Final Fantasy VII: The Phoenix Project
by edenblack18
Summary: One year after Advent children, they thought they had ended all of the evil that threatened the Planet. The group of Avalanche had believed that the Planet was now safe......they were wrong. Rating: T, may go to R. language, violence, sexual reference.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Beginning**

The thing about ShinRa and it's secrets was that it was hard for anyone else to figure out what the truths were. ShinRa Inc. had twisted so many truths together like knots, that it was hard to untangle them. It was even more difficult for some of the workers who had a conscious and didn't like what they did sometimes. That was how it was for Dr. Ryuu, a third class scientist.

Dr. Ryuu was a well known scientist in the ShinRa Inc. A lot of people had respected him, even though he was related to a man who everyone believed to be a mad genius. No one could really see how the two were related either. True, they both had a deep love for science, and they had always been competing against one another to prove who was the better scientist. Of course, things really never went Dr. Ryuu's way. Especially when his brother had always caught the President of Shinra's attention with his most inhumane experiments. He was very sure that President Augustice was just as mad as Professor Hojo. Both of them were definitely power hungry. Yet, while the President used money as his power, Professor Hojo used his science. He had come up so many experiements that were definitely from the mind of an insane genius. He had used some of the most unusual methods that didn't just agree with Dr. Ryuu. And that was why he started his own project, that he knew he wouldn't agree with later on. But if it was the only way in stopping Professor Hojo from doing one of the worst things in history, so be it. And that was what he did.

Unfortunately, he had grown too attached to his own experiment. Earlier before he had started the project, he and his assisstants had been studying the immortal life. They were trying to figure out how to create a warrior who could die yet be reborn. An immortal warrior.

Of course, Dr. Ryuu knew it was impossible to create such a being. There was no way to create a fighter who could die yet be reborn. The only way of doing that was to use Phoenix downs or life spells all the time. But that was not what Dr. Ryuu wanted. Or his helpers. They wanted to create a being who didn't need curative spells or life saving items. They wanted the warrior to do it on their own. That was why they started studying the mythical creature, Phoenix.

Everyone knew what the Phoenix was. There had been a rumor that the Phoenix was once a condor from Fort Condor. And that was why ShinRa Inc. kept badgering the people at the Fort for a single condor egg. That, and because of the Huge Materia that was hidden inside it. Dr. Ryuu had even went to ask the people if they would allow him to study an egg. He had promised that no harm was going to come to the baby. However, the people refused once again. None of them trusted any ShinRa Inc. workers no matter how polite they were. The good doctor, Ryuu was not happy with the refusal but tried to find a way around it. He was not one who gave up very easily. He only found other options of continuing his research.

However, again, he didn't guess that Professor Hojo had been watching him very closely and had been reading his work. The Professor had decided to give Dr. Ryuu a small 'helping' hand by having someone steal a condor egg from Fort Condor. Once he had it, he gave it to his brother, Dr. Ryuu so he could continue his research. Of course, Dr. Ryuu was not impressed that Hojo would do such a thing but he kept quiet and continued the research.

The first half of the experiement lasted for a year until Dr. Ryuu had a break through. He had been the first to create ShinRa Inc.'s very first Phoenix Demon. They had used the condor that had hatched from the egg and large amounts of Mako energy. Professor Hojo had even been 'kind' enough to borrow a sample of Jenova cells to Dr. Ryuu. It wasn't like him to be so generous like he had been but Dr. Ryuu was too excited to see his mad brother's true intentions. He continued his research without stopping to think of what could have happened.

A few months had passed and the Phoenix had grown quite nicely. That is until Hojo decided to take over Dr. Ryuu's work as Head Scientist. There had been a huge arguement over that one. Dr. Ryuu had complained of Professor Hojo's trechery and how he was only trying to steal his work. To cover things up, Hojo had made Ryuu into his personal assisstant so they would work along side each other. Ryuu didn't like it but he didn't say anything about it. It was either to work as Hojo's second man or find another job that didn't have anything to do with ShinRa Inc. And because he was already so far into his project, he couldn't refuse the job. So he worked under Hojo's orders.

Unfortunately, Hojo had been way too hard on the Phoenix. He was pushing to hard and was trying to speed things up. The bird became ill and finally died.

The most interesting part about it though was it didn't exactly die as normal things would have. It remained in a spirit form. It was exactly what everyone had wanted it to be. The real research began then. And Dr. Ryuu did not like what was going to happen. In fact, he was totally against using humans as experiments. It was against his own standards and it sickened him when Hojo had chose his human experiement for the project.

A young girl.

Dr. Ryuu stared into the window of the cell where they were keeping the girl. He felt incredibly sorry for her. Especially on what was going to happen to her. She was a pretty little thing and he couldn't help but feel very protective over this child. It just disgusted him when he found out where they had gotten the child.

She had been kidnapped years before she was brought to the secret lab near Nibelhiem. She had been taken by ShinRa SOLDIERs, who had destroyed a very small town near Wutai. It was right after the war against Wutai. The town had only been at least 20 miles away from the village and that was where they had taken the girl. General Sephiroth had personally seen to it that she was kept alive and hidden away from some of his men. Dr. Ryuu had learned from the silver haired young man that some of his men had tried to bully the girl several times during the war. The girl had been only six years old then. While the ShinRa army had literately destroyed every single person in the town on the island, Sephiroth could not see this girl being killed. And now that Dr. Ryuu was looking at the girl, he could see why.

She may have been very young, but she was one of the most beautiful young girls he had ever seen. Her hair was coal black and she had deep ivy-green eyes. She was a small and fragile looking thing but there was strength in her eyes whenever she looked at anyone. She would always glare at someone, daring them to even touch her. Dr. Ryuu was already growing fond of the girl.

During the long weeks of her stay, Dr. Ryuu was allowed to be in charge of the girl. He was to look after her and make sure she had everything she needed. He had spoke to her many times before but had never really learned her name. And when he did ask, she didn't know what her name was. She believed her parents had called her Eden. And so that was what she was called. Only everyone called her the Black Beauty. One because of her beautiful black hair and two because she was a little beauty. Dr. Ryuu then named the girl, Eden Black.

He was growing quite close to Eden, as was the Phoenix. They had tested the demon's reation to her and it had shown a liking to her. The Phoenix demon was quite protective over her while she was staying with it. It would not allow anyone other than Dr. Ryuu near her while she was in it's cell. It seemed to like only the doctor other than Eden. And that was what made him even more upset about what they were going to do now.

The next step to the Phoenix Project.

Dr. Ryuu sighed as he watched the young 12 year old reading her books like she had been told to. She was learning quite a lot now. And she proved to be a fast learner. During her years of staying in the lab, she had been tested many times. She had been instructed to read as many books as possible. Most of them were arithmatic and science books since that was mostly what they had in the lab. She was always reading education books and was becoming a very bright young girl. She was also exercising all the time. Professor Hojo had told the good Dr. Ryuu to make sure she was in top physical shape. She was quite strong for her age as well. She had even had a few Mako injections, which was not pleasant for the girl or Dr. Ryuu. The doctor could never stand listening to the girl screaming in pain when she was injected. He also had always wondered why Professor Hojo wanted Eden to exercise so much and become very strong but he had never asked. Like always, he never stopped to think. And it was only that morning he discovered what Professor Hojo had in mind.

The kind doctor sighed again before he decided it was time. He had been ordered to take the girl to the other side of the lab. It was time to begin phase two. He knew that Eden would never forgive him for this. He knew that he wouldn't forgive himself either. He didn't think he ever would.

Dr. Ryuu shook his head as he placed his palm against the hand lock to open the door. With a hiss and a beep of access granted, the door slid open. Eden looked up and faintly smiled at the doctor, who returned the smile.

"Good morning, Eden." Dr. Ryuu said gently as he walked over to where she was sitting.

Eden nodded. "Good morning, doctor." She then frowned. "Please don't tell me that it's time for my shots." She sounded almost like she was pleading.

Dr. Ryuu frowned looking saddened. "I wish I could say that it wasn't that time, but it is. I'm sorry you have to go through this so much, Eden. I have tried several times to get Professor Hojo to not do it and to release you, but he will not hear of it."

The young girl sighed closing her book before standing. "I know, doctor. I know your just trying to help me. I'm afraid that no one can now." She said. Dr. Ryuu shook his head as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now, now, Eden. The only one that can actually help you is yourself. You must be brave and strong for all obstacles. No matter what they be. Don't ever give up hope, do you understand?"

Eden smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, Dr. Ryuu."

Dr. Ryuu nodded towards the door. "Now, let's go get this over with and then you can rest for an hour. After that, I'll let you go see Phoenix." Eden's smile grew wider and she allowed him to lead her out of her room.

He frowned as soon as they were half way down the hall. He really wanted to tell her the real truth. But then again, he didn't want to see the fearful look on her face more than she usually had. He knew that she was dead scared of Professor Hojo and he couldn't blame her. There was just those things about his older brother that made him shiver. He had heard a few rumors that Hojo had did a few experiements on himself that could alter him incredibly. He could only hope that they were only rumors and not the truth.

They finally reached the lab where her life would really change. Eden had looked around the lab as they walked in before looking up at the doctor. She could already see that he was not happy about something. And she had a feeling that what she was doing in this particular lab, she knew she wouldn't like it. But she was going to try to be brave no matter what Professor Hojo had in store for her. She was going to be the little warrioress Dr. Ryuu believed that she was. She was not going to let Professor Hojo scare her. And speak of the devil, here he came. He was being followed by one of his assisstants. The assisstant was carrying a tray with a few needles. Eden didn't like the look of where this was going. She only had to be injected with Mako once a week with only one needle. But why was she going to be injected with three needles? She didn't like this.

Dr. Ryuu saw the uneasiness in Eden and he pitied her already. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze of comfort.

The young girl just looked up at him and faintly smiled. "It'll be all right, Eden." Dr. Ryuu softly spoke to her before looking sternly at Hojo. "Remember our agreement, Hojo."

The Professor just smirked coolly at him. "I remember, Ryuu. But have no fear. This won't take too long." His black eyes looked onto Eden, who shrank away from him. "You, girl! Sit on the table." he told her rather demanding.

Eden gave him a cool look but didn't move. Professor Hojo looked like his temper was starting to rise. His cruel smile faded and he glared at her. "You better do what I tell you or there will be consequences." He warned darkly.

Dr. Ryuu gave his older brother a cool look before gently pushing Eden towards the table. "Hojo, you really need to learn how to treat children. Come, Eden."

Eden allowed him to lead her to the table and help her get on it. She just sat there waiting for further instructions. Dr. Ryuu reached over and took one of the needles from the assisstant. Inside the tube was clear liquid. "Eden, you may want to lay down for this one." He told her. Eden nodded and did what she was told. She just laid there as another assisstant rolled up her sleeve. Dr. Ryuu prepared to inject her, pausing only for a minute. He smiled down at her as he used his free hand to push her bangs back out of her green eyes. "Eden, I'm sorry." He whispered before he injected her with the needle.

Eden just gave him a confused look before she felt very tired. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

Dr. Ryuu sighed and shook his head as he put the tranquilizer down on the tray. "All right. Let's get to work."

Everyone nodded and began to move around. Dr. Ryuu stayed right by Eden's side looking down at her as she slept. Professor Hojo was having an assisstant roll a large tank towards the table where Eden was sleeping. Inside it was what looked like a live flame. And as soon as it was close enough, a head formed inside the flames. It was the Phoenix Demon. And it didn't look happy at all. It began screeching and making quite the racket.

Dr. Ryuu seemed to guess what was wrong. He held up a hand. "Don't worry. She's only asleep, Phoenix." He spoke to her. The Phoenix slowly stopped screeching.

During the proceedure, Eden had whimpered once or twice in her sleep as the two scientists continued their work. Dr. Ryuu had a worried look the entire time. He wasn't happy that they had to do this to Eden. But he did have his orders. They had injected her with the original Mako liquid but also with some more of Hojo's Jenova cells. This was definitely one thing that he had objected to. He had heard what Jenova cells could do. He had spoken to Sephiroth about them once before to ask what it was like. Sephiroth had told Dr. Ryuu that it was not a very pleasant feeling. That was what made Dr. Ryuu even more worried. He could only hope that if the experiment worked, the Phoenix would be able to destroy the cells before they could do anything to harm Eden. That is if they were successful in transferring the Phoenix inside Eden. They were going to place the demon inside Eden, hoping that it would work. She would become more inhuman though. And that was had Dr. Ryuu so upset all morning. The thought of this made him shudder. The little girl he was beginning to love was going to be less and less human once they were done with the experiment. And he couldn't really bare to think of her as a monster, which was mostly what Hojo created.

Finally the last step of the experiement came. The transferring of the demon into the girl. They had attached a tube to Eden and the transfer began. Everyone had to wear special glasses to protect their eyes. When the transfer was a go, bright light filled the room, blinding those who were not wearing the special glasses. Dr. Ryuu was holding his breath, hoping that the transfer would not harm Eden.

As soon as the transfer was completed, the light dimmed and they were allowed to take the glasses off once again. To their surprise, the Phoenix had vanished from the tank. It was no where to be seen. Dr. Ryuu tucked his glasses into his lab coat and stepped closer to Eden. He halted and had to hold his breath once again when he noticed that Eden had changed quite a bit. Her usually raven black hair had turned to blood red. That was the most unusual thing that had ever happened. The kind doctor stepped closer and used a small instrument to see if it had worked. The object gave a small beep and he looked at Hojo.

"The Phoenix is inside her now. It has worked." Some of the assisstants had cheered.

But Hojo just smirked. "Very good. Now we begin the ultimate tests."

Dr. Ryuu shot him a dark look. "What ultimate tests?" He asked seriously.

Hojo smirked. "We must see if she is the warrioress we have been trying to create. She will have to fight for her life. But don't worry, Ryuu. If we really did succeed, she will only be reborn." he said. Dr. Ryuu turned to face him. His arms spread out a little. He had a very dark look on his face. "That is enough, Hojo! She is only a child! She is not a fighter! We have not taught her how to fight and I refuse to let you take her life just to see if she can be reborn!" Hojo frowned darkly at him.

"Professor, Dr. Ryuu is right. She is too weak right now." Another assisstant piped in.

"Right at this moment, she is asleep and she won't be able to defend herself." said another.

Dr. Ryuu and Professor Hojo just glared at one another before the mad scientist turned sharply away. "Very well! We will not start the tests now. We will wait for three days before testing her." He said. Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "Hojo, she will not be ready." He said stubbornly. Hojo jerked around. "All right, Mr. Smartypants! When do you think she will be ready?!" He demanded.

Dr. Ryuu continued to glower at him."Not any time soon. If she is to fight for her life, then she should be prepared to do so. She will need to learn how to fight."

Professor Hojo thought for a long moment before nodding. "Very well. Prepare her. And as soon as she is ready, she will be tested." He then stomped out.

The low class scientist gritted his teeth as he cursed Hojo inwardly. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself before he turned to Eden. He looked her over before softly smiling. He gently brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Dear precious Eden. I will make sure that you will be ready." He whispered. He turned a glare over his shoulder at Hojo's retreating form. "Even if it kills me."

The days slowly went by. Eden had not been happy when she found out what had happened to her. She had refused to speak to anyone for a few days. Dr. Ryuu didn't blame her for being angry. He was angry himself. Angry at what he had done and at Professor Hojo for even considering it. The days turned into weeks and that was when Eden's real training had begun. She began to study the martial arts and other different kinds of hand to hand combat. She learned them pretty fast. Her senses had enhanced greatly now that she had the Phoenix demon inside her mind. She could see, smell and even hear better. Her reflexes were even faster. The only thing that it didn't enhance was her strength. She was not as strong as Hojo had wanted her to be. But she did prove to be one of the most strongest girls there was. And she was only getting stronger when she exercised daily.

After a year of hand to hand combat training, she began learning weaponary. She was taught how to handle all sorts of weapons. She favored guns and swords the most. But no matter how much she asked, she was never given one to keep for outside training schedules. None of the scientists wanted her to have a weapon in her possession just in case she wanted to escape. She grew quite marvalously throughout the years of her living in the lab.

She was now becoming a full fledged young woman. She had cut her hair short so it wasn't always in the way while she was training. She cut it to her shoulders in a layered style and she even had small golden metal rings braided in her hair for her own different type of style. The clothing she favored was black. When she turned fourteen, things really got ugly.

There had been word from the surface that things had gotten out of control for ShinRa Inc. No more than a mile from the lab, so Eden had heard, that the great General Sephiroth had lost his mind when he found out that he too was an experiment created by Hojo. He had destroyed the entire town of Nibelhiem. Luckily for the hidden labatory, he had forgotten about the lab and just passed by it when he headed into the mountains. After word came that Sephiroth had been killed, Hojo had grown quite angry and became much more insane in his science. Several times, Eden had heard Hojo arguing with Ryuu about starting a new project with her. She had overheard him saying that he wanted to combind another project with the one the one that she was on. Some kind of project called Jenova Project. Just by hearing that name made Eden shiver. She didn't like the sound of it and neither did Phoenix. She had learned that she could talk with Phoenix whenever she wanted. And Phoenix had learned that if she wanted to, it could take control of Eden's body for herself. But out of the friendship the two had created together, it never did it.

Finally after two more years, Hojo had given up on the Phoenix Project. He began working on something else so Dr. Ryuu was put back in charge with the project, much to Eden's relief. They were much happier to know that Hojo had no longer had interest in Eden. He had even forgotten about the tests that she was suppose to go through. And for the first time for many, many years, she was allowed to go to the surface to see what the world looked like because she had forgotten.

Dr. Ryuu, of course, had to be with her at all times. She never tried once to escape, even though she was strong enough to do it now. She liked being with Dr. Ryuu. He was like a father to her and she was a daughter to him.

Two more years passed and she had reached the age of 18. Hojo again began badgering Dr. Ryuu about having Eden be apart of the Jenova Project. Once again, Dr. Ryuu refused to let him experiment on Eden.

"Why do you want to use her anyway?" He asked after Hojo's fifth time on badgering him. Hojo wouldn't say though. He just snapped, "It's none of your business!" and then went on his own way.

Dr. Ryuu soon found out why. News had reached the hidden lab that Sephiroth was still alive and was causing havoc above. There had been a group that called theirselves Avalanche that had been defying ShinRa Inc. and were also trying to destroy Sephiroth. And the reason why Hojo wanted to be put in charge of Eden was because the new president of ShinRa Inc. was going to pay a visit to the hidden lab. Everyone was quite excited that President Rufus was going to visit. They had not had a visit from the President for such a long time. Eden had never got the chance to meet the former President, not that she had wanted to. Dr. Ryuu had told her so many things about him and she hadn't liked the sound of him at all.

The visit soon came. Eden had been sitting her cell doing her reading when she heard some kind of commotion outside her room. She looked up towards the window and saw a few people running back and forth. She just shrugged and went back to her reading when there was a tap on the glass. She looked up once again to see who it was and paused.

There standing at the window was a young man staring in at her coldly. Dr. Ryuu was standing next to him and seemed to explaining something to him. The young man was quite handsome and he wasn't very much older than Eden. He was at least in his early twenties. Eden figured he must have been at least 21. He had slicked back strawberry blonde hair and the coolest blue eyes she had ever seen. He wore white suit with a black turtle neck shirt under the jacket. He had the look that he had never smiled or laughed in a day of his life. There was just something about this young man that Eden didn't seem to like that much.

True, he was the very first young man she had ever seen but he looked not too friendly.

Behind him was a few people. A short but fat man in a mustard yellow uniform was peering in the window looking at her with interest. While a skanky woman in a tight revealing red dress eyed her in disgust. Eden frowned as she tried to use her enhanced hearing to hear of what was going on outside her door. The words weren't very clear but it didn't take a moron to figure out that the conversation that Dr. Ryuu was having with this young man wasn't a very friendly one.

The young man finally looked away from Eden and gave Dr. Ryuu a very cold look. He didn't look very happy at all. In fact, he looked like he was shouting.

Eden immediately disliked this man for shouting at Dr. Ryuu.

She closed her book and watched the people outside her cell for the longest time. The blonde young man was continuing talking with Dr. Ryuu, who now had a strange expression on his face; a very thoughtful look. He then nodded to the man and looked back at Eden through the window. He gave her a very faint smile, who slowly returned it. The blonde young man had glanced back at her before turning and walking out of view.

Eden found out later that night of who the young man had been and why he had been yelling when Dr. Ryuu had made his visit. They ate dinner together in Eden's room as Dr. Ryuu explained.

"The man you saw earlier happens to be President Rufus Shinra, Eden. He's the youngest President in history. It's said that no one has ever seen him bleed or cry. He's a very hard young man and he's definitely different from his father." He told her.

Eden slightly smiled. "Oh, well that's good."

Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "Actually, not really. He may be different from his father, but he's still like him. He wishes to control the world just like President Shinra had. You see, President Shinra had controlled the world with money and broken promises. President Rufus, on the other hand, wishes to control the world with fear. He wants to force everyone to like him."

Eden tilted her head. She didn't like the idea of someone trying to control the world with fear but wanting to be liked was another thing. "Doesn't anyone want to be liked?"

Dr. Ryuu smiled and gave a slight nod. "Yes. I suppose you are right. President Rufus is just a young man. He's still young and has his own dreams. It's probably only a matter of time before he realizes that he can't force people to do anything. He must learn that if he wants to be liked, he better do it without fear."

Eden slowly nodded. She gave a shrug. "So why was he yelling at you earlier?"

Dr. Ryuu pulled a face as he thought about it. "Well, you see, Eden. He never knew about this lab. No one ever told him about it. So he was quite angry." He said. Eden tilted her head. "So he yelled at you for not telling him about this lab?"

Dr. Ryuu faintly smiled. "No. It wasn't about that. He's against human experiments. That was another thing that his father and himself could never meet eye to eye. When I explained about you and the experiments that we had been doing, he was more than angry. That was why he was yelling. He demanded that we shut down this operation immediately. And he fired quite a lot of people today."

Eden's eyes lit up. "He didn't fire you, did he?"

Dr. Ryuu gave a lazy shrug. "I'm afraid he did. But I do not blame him one bit. You see, I should have stopped this experiment long ago. I was against the experiments we did on you. And now, I have been punished. I will not complain at all about this. The better part is, you're to be set free." He told her.

The young woman's eyes lit up. "What?" She asked. Dr. Ryuu smiled. "That's right, Eden. You're to be freed. No longer our prisoner, our experiment. The President has ordered it. By the end of the week, you are a free woman. You are free to go where ever you want. No more cells, no more Mako injections or Jenova injections. No more Professor Hojo."

Eden had to smile at that one. "What about you? What are you going to do?"

Dr. Ryuu frowned. "Well, I've been called to go to Midgar for a hearing along with all of the other scientists. There, we're going to be questioned about every thing that we have done. The President will decide if we deserve to continue our work as scientists."

Eden's smiled. "I hope that you get your job back then."

The doctor just smiled at her and shook his head. "No. I would rather not. I have decided it's time to retire. If I am offered the job back, I'm going to decline." Eden just smiled.

Unfortunately, the very next day when Dr. Ryuu was called away, things really fell apart. There had been a terrible fire that night and it was said that none survived.

No one. Not a single person.

Dr. Ryuu was devastated to hear the lab had been burned down. He had learned that there was no sign of Eden. None of the ShinRa fire squad could find her body. It was believed to be incinerated. He was one very broken hearted man. He had left ShinRa aswell, just after the Weapons began attacking every where. He went into hiding and was never seen from again.

Not even after ShinRa Inc. had fallen, when President Rufus Shinra was said to be killed by the blast of the Diamond Weapon. No one ever seen or heard from Dr. Ryuu Hojo again.

There was one thing though that Dr. Ryuu had not heard about.

Before the fire, one of the ShinRa representives had been ordered to make sure that Project Phoenix was completely terminated. It was not to be known by anyone of what the project was about. Every single scientist that had been involved was to be exterminated, including Dr. Ryuu. He, however, had not been there that night so he had escaped. Everything else was destroyed though.

Before the fires broke out, the ShinRa representive was going to witness the execution of Eden Black. They were going to kill her by shooting her. However, that was when Phoenix took over.

Flames had engulfed Eden and she had transformed into a magnificent bird right before everyone's eyes. No one survived the Phoenix's wraith. Not even the representive. Only one person. And his mind had turned into mush after that. He had been scared to insanity. The only thing he had said was that a bird of fire had destroyed the lab and disappeared in thin air. No one ever saw the bird of fire. It was believed that the man who had escaped was nothing but a crazy loon. So no one really believed that anyone escaped the fires but that man.

But what they didn't know was he was not the only one to survive.


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I:**

**Three Years Later

* * *

**

The sun was shining brightly on the face of the Planet. It had been several months since the Geostigma virus had been destroyed. Along with the three silver haired remnants, who had tried to fool everyone to believing that the Planet was the enemy. As for the famous group, Avalanche, they had gone their seperate ways once again. Going back to the lives they were living before the Geostigma virus and the three Sephiroth clones.

Cloud Strife was sitting against a tree, resting his eyes and enjoying the warm rays of the sun. He had been extremely busy with his delivery business that he hardly ever found time to himself. And now that there wasn't any deliveries at the moment, he was going to enjoy this hour of peace. He was resting in a forest that was only a few miles from Kalm. He had been on his way back to Neo Midgar from making a delivery at the Chocobo Ranch. Cloud had not changed very much since the fight against the young Sephiroth clone, Kadaj or his brothers. He was still the same Cloud Strife, only he was more open and not so distant from his old friends as he had been before the fight. He helped his best friend, Tifa Lockhart with her bar and helped her with some of the children she looked after. They were quite the pair now. People often wondered out loud if they were ever going to get together. But they still hadn't. Cloud and Tifa never thought of it about getting together. They were friends and that was all they were going to be.

As he sat there, his warning sense was going off. He continued to just sit there when he heard someone approaching him. The under growth under them snapped and crackled. Cloud's eyes snapped open and he just looked at the men standing in front of him. There were three of them. They were all wearing black and black hats on their heads.

The first was handling a machete with one hand. He was a quite a large fellow. His hair was dark brown and so was his eyes. The second one had a gunblade in his hand. He was a little smaller than the large man but no stronger or weaker. He had long dirty blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. He was sneering down at Cloud. The last one was no doubt the leader. He wasn't holding his weapons but they were a pair of guns sitting in the holsters. He had very short black hair and his were a dark brown color. He had a sharp goatee on his chin. He wasn't smiling at all. He just stepped forward.

"Cloud Strife?" he asked in uncertainity.

Cloud just slowly eyed the first two before looking at the third. And very slow like, he got to his feet, keeping his hands away from the sword leaning against the tree. "So what of it?" He asked quietly. His blue eyes baring right into the leader's.

The leader finally sneered. "Are you Cloud Strife, or are you not?" He asked coldly.

Cloud's lips curved a little into a smirk. "I am."

And then he ducked as the big boy swung his machete. Cloud's hand shot to the sword and he pulled it quickly. He spun out ward to the side and slashed down at the big man, who recieved the wound on his arm. He just growled in annoyance as he spun around. Cloud quickly dodged the blade of the gunblader backing away as he rose his sword with both hands. He was smirking. The leader yanked his guns and began firing. Cloud quickly rose his hand.

"Barrier!" He yelled and the bullets bounced right off his invisible shield.

He rushed forward and met the gunblader's blade with his own. He quickly shoved it off and spun in a circle yanking his second sword out. He blocked the machete with it. He stood there holding both swords in his hands, smirking at the two astonished thugs.

"Your mistake."

He then kicked at the gunblader, knocking him back. Cloud used his sword to slash at that one. The Gunblader let out a cry of pain as he was cut down easily. He fell to the ground bursting into black powder. That surprised Cloud. His eyes grew wide but he quickly ducked as the machete came down at him. The blade missed him by an inch. Cloud spun in a full circle as he slashed the attacker. The big man cried out in pain as he fell next. Bursting into black powder just like the first. Cloud looked at the piles of black ash at his feet before his eyes rose and he met the cruel green eyes of the leader who was aiming at him.

"Die, Strife!" he began firing.

Cloud gritted his teeth as he rose both swords and began swinging to deflect the bullets. He then jerked to the side and charged the leader, who jumped to the side as Cloud slashed down at him with one of his swords. They faced one another again.

"Who sent you?!" The blonde swordsman demanded.

The leader grinned evilly before he began firing again. Cloud crouched low then jumped high into the air and flipped right over the leader. The leader tried to follow but he missed Cloud. The blonde landed on his feet right behind the man before swinging his sword. The blade went right through the gunner and like the first two, he burst into black dust. Cloud jerked his head to the side as the dust came flying at him.

Then it was silent.

Cloud opened his eyes and looked around. The black dust was sitting all around him. And in it, was tiny green crystals. Cloud slid the swords back into their hidden scabbards and bent down to examine the crystals. His eyes narrowed in confusion. The crystals were diamond shaped. He had never seen anything like it before. He carefully scooped up some of the dust and the crystals, looking it over. His eyes squinted as he looked away trying to think. He sat there for a minute before reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small empty bottle. He filled it up with black dust and green crystals, sealing the bottle with a cork. Cloud stood up straight and tucked the bottle away.

Something was going on and he didn't like it. He had heard of the new numbers of strange monsters appearing all over. He had recieved a call from Barret once telling him about how he had to fight a very strange looking four armed and one legged monster with a giant horn on it's head. Once it had been killed it had burst into black dust and blue-green crystals. He wondered if Shinra ever knew about these monsters. There was only one way of finding out. Going to Neo Midgar and find him.

Cloud shook his head as he turned and went straight to Fenrir, which was leaning against a tree. He picked up his pack and climbed on. He was going to solve this strange mystery, no matter where it lead to. He could only hope that it wasn't going to lead in the direction he didn't like. The direction where he was afraid that it would. Another crisis against the Planet. He sighed just thinking about it. "Why can't they just leave us in peace." he muttered as he kicked Fenrir alive and sped away from that clearing, heading straight to Neo Midgar. It was time to find out what was going on.

Far across the field, into the small town of Kalm, the people were just getting their daily chores done. Children were smiling as they chased one another. One almost ran into a young woman as she was passing by with a basket full of bread. She stepped to the side as they skidded to a halt. She smiled gently at him.

"Sorry!" The child said shamefully.

The young woman just shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Just be careful, all right, Kit?" The boy nodded and raced off again.

The young woman, herself was a very pretty woman. She had long cinnimon brown hair that was pulled back into a pontytail. And keeping it from falling out, was a red ribbon. The young woman's eyes were a emerald green and full of life. She had long bangs hanging down by the sides of her face. She was wearing a red jacket over a pearl colored short sleeved shirt and a long dusty rose colored skirt, running down to her ankles. She was wearing brown boots on her feet. She had the looks of an angel.

That was what some of the people called her. No one really knew her real name. She only went by what the people called her. And that was just Angel.

Angel was the town's baker's assisstant and when she wasn't selling bread in the town square or making deliveries, she was attending the flowers that laid just behind the town.

It was a mystery on where the flowers came from. There hadn't been flowers in Kalm for many years. But once Angel showed up, looking quite dazed and confused, they began to sprout from the ground. Angel was loved by all the children of Kalm and was adored by the women. The men just loved to look at her. For she was like a flower herself. She was also known as Kalm's Rose. Hardly anyone in Kalm didn't know about Angel. She was quite the healer too. So if there was anyone who needed to be healed, they would go to Angel.

"Angel!" Angel turned around and looked at the little girl who was hurrying up to her. She smiled as the girl slowed her pace to stand right in front of her. "Why, hello, little Tasha. How can I help you?"

Tasha looked innocently up at Angel. "It's my little brother! He fell down and scraped his knee! Can you please come help him?"

Angel smiled gently and nodded. "All right. Take me to him." She held out her hand to Tasha, who giggled and took her hand.

The little girl led her towards the entrance where they found a crying little boy. He was kicking at the ground and holding his knee close to him. Angel tilted her head looking a little surprised. "Oh, you poor dear." She said as she bent down right by the little boy. He sniffed as he looked up at her. "Angel?" He asked. Angel just smiled as she gently touched his knee. "It's okay, Kori. I'm here." She said as white light surrounded her hand. She healed the boy's knee without any effort at all.

Kori sniffed as he smiled up at her. "Thank you, Angel."

Angel gave him a gentle smile as she helped him up. "You be careful from now on." She told him.

Kori nodded as he jumped and down with his sister. The two began running around the smiling woman. "Yea!" They cheered.

Angel just laughed and shook her head. "I have to go back to work, kids. So if you'll run along now." She said. Tasha and Kori nodded. "Okay! See you later!" They both said and hurried off. Angel just smiled as she started to turn to go back to the townsquare. But she suddenly with a frown. Her eyes grew wide and she turned around to look back out at the field. She could feel something in the air. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling at all. Angel's eyes squinted as she continue to search the sky for anything.

"What is going on now?" She whispered.

The wind slightly blowed against her and her eyes lit up. She then frowned and looked serious. "Something is terribly wrong." She whispered. Then she turned and went back into the town. She only looked over her shoulder once before shaking her head.

"Hah!" She yelled as she swung her fist at her opponement, who managed to block the attack with his own arm. He stepped back just as the young woman sent her foot flying towards his head. He had to jerk his head back to avoid collision.

Both of the fighters had sweat beads rolling down their faces as they began to fight a hardcore battle against each other. They sent fists flying at each other but they were blocked very quickly.

The first fighter was a very lovely young woman. She had long brownish black hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail and reddish brown eyes sparkled as she continued to attack her opponment. It was none other than Tifa Lockhart. She was wearing black shorts and a tank top. The pink ribbon was still around her arm from the several months before. She had not changed herself that much. Only that she was still as pretty as ever.

Her opponement was an old rival of her's. During the Meteor crisis they had been enemies and in the beginning of the Geostigma crisis. But now they were only fight buddies. He, too was a fist fighter. He was a dark skinned man, only five years older than Tifa. His head was clean shaven and the only hair he had on his head was his goatee. He usually wore dark sunglasses but today he had decided to take them off just in case he did get punched in the head and they would break. It was Rude of the Turks. He was wearing his usually dark blue pants from his uniform but he had taken off his jacket and was wearing a sleeveless muscle shirt.

They were not alone.

In fact they were being watching by a few of the children who lived in Tifa's bar and inn. Outside from the children, there were two full grown men watching as well. Both around the same age. One of them was Rufus Shinra. The other was Reno.

Rufus had changed only a little. He had grown his hair slightly a little longer but still kept it short. He still kept it combed back with only a few strands of bangs hanging over his icy blue eyes. He was wearing his original white-grey suit.

Reno was just the same as always. Still wearing his blue Turk uniform and his firery red hair was messy as ever. He was grinning as he watched his friend spare with Tifa Lockhart, wincing as he was almost hit by her fist. "Don't let her hit ya, Rude! Or you're going to have a major headache!" He called.

Rude just shot Reno a look from over his shoulder before ducking under Tifa's fist. "Reno! You're not helping!" He called as backed away from Tifa, who continued to attack.

Tifa cracked a smile as she heard Reno laugh his little impish and wicked laugh. Rufus did the same as he shook his head.

Finally Rude stopped and bent over, placing his hands on his knees. "All right. I think it's time for a break." He said. Tifa nodded as she stood up straight. She went over and picked up her towel to wipe off her forehead. She tossed another towel to Rude, who caught it and gave her a nod of gratitude.

"You two are getting better." Rufus finally said as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

Tifa undid her ponytail before doing it up again. She just nodded to Rufus before looking at the children. "All right you kids. Time for lunch." She said. The children all cheered and hurried into the house. Tifa walked into the house with the three men right behind her. "Tifa! Tifa!" One child cried out as she hurried up. "Can we have stow agin?" The young five year old asked. Tifa smiled at her and nodded. "All right. I'll make some stew."

There was cheers from the children as they all found their places around a large table. Tifa went to the large fridge in the corner and pulled out a large pot. "Hm. There's still a lot of stew in here from last night's dinner." She looked over her shoulder at the three men. "Are you three hungry too? There's more than enough." She said.

Rufus and Rude just shook their heads while Reno grinned. "Hey! If you made it, Lockhart, then I'd eat anything!"

Tifa rolled her eyes smiling then put the pot on the stove to cook.

"So, how's business?" Rufus Shinra asked as he sat down on one of the stools. Tifa glanced at him as she turned the stove onto high. "Hm? Oh, it's all right. Maybe a little slow once a week." She said. She shook her head as she went to wiping the counter off.

Ever since the Geostigma crisis had ended, Rufus Shinra had been more civil to Tifa, even though she was still not happy with him. She was still trying to get over the time he tried to have her killed just to make himself look good. She knew that he was only being nicer than he used to because he would only get his butt pounded in the ground if he ever tried to threaten anyone again or tried to go back to power. There had been quite a lot of people who was not happy with him at all for still being alive. He had been threatened quite a lot since the people found out that the last Shinra still lived. Of course, the Turks kept him alive as much as possible. And they were doing quite the job too. They had to go every where he did just to keep him from getting mugged. He had been attacked once or twice by a few protesters, but he always got out of it without losing anything. He hardly ever fought back, knowing that it would only provoke more people. And now that he had lost almost everything he owned, he was trying to earn his keep. He was working for one of the Avalanche's friends, Dallas Reeve, who was also the creator of Cait Sith, another member of Avalanche. It was the only thing Rufus could do to try to pay back everything he had done.

People, though, wondered why the Avalanche members hadn't done anything to end Rufus Shinra's life. They kept asking why they were keeping him alive. Tifa only thought the answer was very obvious. So did many of the others. What could Rufus Shinra do now? He couldn't rebuild ShinRa Inc, and try to take over the world again. Not without people constantly trying to kill him, which was happening now. He was one of the most hated men on the face of the Planet.

Not to mention, he was still a little weak from his recovery of the Geostigma virus. He too had been effected long ago and he had been deathly sick. He still was trying to regain his strength from it. The only part he was happy about was that he didn't have to sit in a bloody wheelchair anymore.

"Hm." Rufus said as he rest his arm on the counter. "Still a lot of deliveries though, huh?"

Tifa only nodded as she looked at him. "Most of them are only letters being sent to loved ones or such. Or just packages being sent. Cloud never minds though. I think he just likes to get out of the city to fight more monsters when he gets the chance. Things are getting slower each and every day."

Reno rest both elbows on the counter as he found interest in the wood. "Ya know. Rude and I don't have much to do. No one needs protecting anymore. We wouldn't mind starting a new trade." He said. Rude only glanced at him as he pulled his fighting gloves off before nodding. Tifa gave them both a faint smile. "Well, I suppose we could use a little more help. But I'll need to talk to Cloud before we make our decision. He's still a little hesitant about you three." She said. Rude only nodded.

"Can't really blame him." Reno shrugged lazily. "Hey, Lockhart. Ya mind if I had a drink?"

Tifa rose an eyebrow at him and he gave her his most innocent smile. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But I don't want you to be dead drunk in front of the kids, got that?" She asked giving him a stern look. Reno grinned. "No prob. I'm not going to dead drunk. Just drunk." he said. Tifa shook her head while Rufus and Rude rolled their eyes.

Just then Tifa's phone rang and she went to answer it. "Hello, Strife's Delivery Service. You name it, we deliver it." She was quiet for a second before she nodded. "Yes, sir. And where are we picking up this package?" She asked as she began writing on a pad of paper. She nodded again. "Okay. We'll have it here as soon as we can. You are going to come pick it up from here right?" She paused and then nodded. "Okay. Thank you." She then hung up. She put her hand on her hip and looked at the address.

Rufus tilted his head. "Something wrong?"

Tifa turned around. "Huh? Oh, no. I just need to go pick up a package near the south end of the city but Cloud's not back yet. I'm just trying to think of how I can do this."

Reno sat up a little straighter. "Hey, why don't you let me or Rude go get this package. It would be the great opportunity to show you that we can do the job." He said. Tifa looked right at him before smiling. "That's really nice of you, Reno, but I think I can go get it." She said frowning and looking at the kids. "But..." She paused.

Rufus shook his head. "Reno and Rude doesn't have very much to do. And neither do I. Any one of us could do it while you're watching your kids."

Tifa looked at him before smiling. "Well, I guess you can do it. It doesn't take three men though. Just takes one. How about you, Reno, since you spoke up first."

Reno shrugged before standing. "Yeah, okay. Where's the place?"

Tifa tore out the paper and handed it too him. "The man just said that he wanted the package to be picked up, that's all. Just bring it back here once you have it." She said. Reno nodded as he stuffed the paper into his pocket. "Alrighty then. Back in a flash." he said and strode right out of the bar. Tifa then put a thoughtful look on her face.

Rude tilted his head. "Anything else wrong?"

The young martial artist looked at him and shook her head. "No. I'm just thinking. That man on the phone. He sounded kind of familiar. All well." She shrugged and went to start dishing out stew for the children.

Reno had used his motorbike to get to the South end of the city. He would pause only a few times to check the address again. The neighborhood he was in was one of the still building areas. He didn't know who would be living in that area. He finally found the place. The house was more like an old church, not like the one in Sector Five, and it looked like it should have been condemned. Reno pulled off his helmet and looked up at the house.

"Huh." He muttered. He shook his head as he put the kick stand down and climbed off. "This is the place." He said to himself as he stared up at the building. He shrugged and headed up the stairs to the door. He knocked a few times but there had been no answer. So he just pushed the door open and looked around.

The inside of the house was completely empty and some of the floorboards weren't even laid down. Reno pulled a face as he pushed the door open and looked around. The floor was coated in dust.

"Hello?" He called into the house.

Reno looked down as he slowly walked and stepped on only the solid boards of the floor. He glanced around to see where this package could be. He began wandering in the house, looking for anyone that might could help him or even for the package. He glanced back at the paper in his hand before putting it away. He wandered into what was suppose to be a kitchen and spotted a box on the counter. He shrugged as he walked over to it and examined it. It was the only box in the place so it must have been the package. He picked it up and looked over. "Hm. I guess this is it." He said with a shrug. He turned and started to walk out. He was very unaware that he was being watched from the rafters above.

There was a dark shadow there with glowing green eyes. There was a low and annoyed growl before the figure pulled out an object in his pocket and pressed a button on the remote. Then the shadowy figure quickly climbed through a hole through the roof.

Reno was half way towards the door when he heard something. He slowed his pace and looked around. "Huh?" He muttered.

The sound he heard was a ticking sound. Was there a clock somewhere close by? He listened very hard before realizing that the ticking sound was coming from the box. He blinked a few times before raising it and pressing his ear up against the box. His eyes squinting as he listening to the ticking sound. Was there a clock in the box?

Reno shook his head as he turned to a short table on his right and set the box down. He carefully pulled the flaps back and opened it to see what was inside it. The ticking only grew louder. He had to pull some bubble wrap back to see what it was before his blue-green eyes widened. "Oh...shit!" He exclaimed before turning and running away from the box as fast as he could.

Inside the box was an alarm clock and a small bundle of dynamite. And the numbers on the face were counting down from five seconds.

Reno was half way towards the open door when the bomb started ringing and then the explosion. Fire burst out of the dynamite and the impact sent Reno flying out the house. "Ahhh!" he cried out as he flew ten feet into the air and went sailing across the street.

The explosion had completely destroyed the house effecting the next one beside it. A mushroom cloud full of flames flew up into the air and shook the ground. People who were luckily far away from the house gave cries of surprise and jerked around to see the mushroom cloud. Some people gasped and began talking to their friends.

Cloud had just arrived right in front of the 7th Heaven when he saw it. He just sat on Fenrir as he pulled off his glasses and looked wide eyed up at the mushroom cloud of fire and smoke. He stared up at it for a long time before he heard someone gasp. He turned his head to see Tifa, Rufus Shinra, Rude and a few of the children coming out of the bar to see what the commotion was about. It had been Tifa who gasped. "Oh, god. I hope no one was hurt." She said as she covered her mouth. Cloud shook his head. "Don't get your hopes up, Tifa. An explosion that big, there's no doubt someone hurt."

Tifa turned sharply and looking surprised. "Cloud! You're back so soon!" She said smiling.

Cloud nodded as he put Fenrir's kick stand down and got off it. He looked at Rufus, who nodded his greeting. Cloud just stared at him before looking at Tifa. "Hey, Tif. We have to talk." He said. Tifa tilted her head in interest. "Huh? About what?" She asked. Cloud nodded. "Let's go inside first. I could use a drink." He said. Tifa nodded as she turned. "All right, everyone. Get inside and finish your stew." She told the kids. The boys all groaned but the girls obeyed immediately. They all went back into the house and sat back down.

Tifa went around the counter and began pouring drinks. Rufus sat a few stools from Cloud with Rude. The blonde swordsman just glanced at him before looking back at Tifa. "What's he doing here?" He asked in a cool way.

Rufus rolled his eyes as Tifa looked at her friend. "HE came with Reno and Rude. I was sparring with Rude again. And, Cloud, be nice, all right? I don't mind him that much anymore." She said handing him a glass. Cloud just stayed quiet and drank his drink. "So, Cloud, what did you want to talk about?" Tifa asked leaning against the counter.

Cloud drained his drink before getting into his pocket. He pulled out the small bottle of black dust and green crystals. "About this." He said placing it down. Tifa's eyes lit up as she looked at it. Rufus and Rude both stood up and moved over to see it better. Cloud never objected. He had wanted Shinra to see it anyways, just in case he might have known something.

"What is that?" Tifa asked looking back at Cloud.

Cloud shook his head. "Don't know. I got it off some thugs that attacked me while I was resting in the forest outside of Neo Midgar. There were three of them but once I killed them, they exploded into this black dust. They even had these crystals inside them."

Rufus looked at him confusion. "What are they?"

Cloud shook his head. "I think they're Mako crystals. But I'm not sure."

Tifa looked at him in surprise. "Mako? Do you really think it's Mako?" She asked. Cloud shrugged. "What else would it be?" He asked. Rude removed his sunglasses to get a better look. "Unusual shape for Mako." He said quietly. Cloud nodded his agreement. "That's not all." He looked at Tifa. "I recieved a call from Barret two days ago. He said that he was attacked by some kind of weird monster. He killed it all right. But it turned into black dust and had green crystals in it too."

Tifa looked alarmed at hearing such a thing but she nodded. "I've heard rumors about strange and unusual monsters. Cid called me this morning to tell me about a very unusual purple worm with four whip like tongues. It nearly ate him too but he stabbed it in the head with his spear. It escaped though." She told him. Cloud looked down at the ground and rubbed his chin. "Hm. This is weird."

Tifa looked a little nervous now. "I don't like this one bit, Cloud. What is going on?"

Cloud shook his head. "I don't know. But I'm going to get to the bottom of this one way or another."

Just then the door opened and two 11 year olds hurried in. It was Marlene Wallace and Denzel. They were just returning from school that was only a few blocks away from Tifa's bar. "Tifa! Did you see that explosion in the South end?" Marlene said rushing over to the counter. Tifa looked at her before nodding. "Yes, we saw it, Marlene. Don't worry. We're sure no one is hurt." she said. Denzel shook his head. "But it was so big! There was fire and smoke every where!"

Cloud shook his head as he patted the boy on the head. "Don't worry, Denzel. If there is anyone hurt, the medics will help them. At least you and Marlene are safe." Tifa nodded.

"Tifa, did Papa call?" Marlene asked.

Tifa shook her head. "Not yet. But I'm sure he'll call later tonight to check on you. You have to be patient." She told her. Marlene nodded. "Okay. Can I get me something to eat?" She asked. Tifa nodded. "Sure. There's some stew still in the pot. You and Denzel get something to eat then get started on your homework. Okay?" She asked. Both, Marlene and Denzel nodded, hurrying around the counter to dish them some food out. The four adults began talking about what might have been going on while the little kids went out back to play for a little bit. Marlene and Denzel just worked on their homework while they ate their bowls of stew.

Just as Cloud was telling the other three about his trip, the door opened again and in staggered Reno. All four adults froze. Reno was in the worst shape he'd ever been. He was holding his arm as if it was hurt really bad and he had blood running down the right side of his face. His clothes were slightly singed.

"Reno?!" Tifa gasped covering her mouth.

Rude rushed over to Reno's side as he started to fall forward. He caught his friend just before he hit the ground. Cloud and Rufus rushed to help him while Tifa quickly grabbed some towels. Reno winced as he fell to his knees and clutched his arm.

"Reno! What happened?!" Rufus asked looking the Turk over.

Reno had one eye shut as he forced himself to look at Tifa. "Yo, Lockhart. You...you better be glad...th-that I went t-to get that package instead of you." He winced again. "It was...was a bomb." He then passed out on the floor, against Rude.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII characters, only the characters you haven't heard of until now.**

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. I know you will really like what's going to happen in the story. It will definitely get you thinking about things. Also, you will definitely see some characters in this story that will make you go "What the Hell?! What's he/she doing here?!" but I guarentee you, they have a reason to be there. Especially with a character that's coming up right now. **

**Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

****Chapter II:**

Far across the ocean, near the Forgotten City, a young man was standing against a silver tree as he stared towards the tiny lake.

He was about 26 years old, maybe a little older. He had black spikey hair, which grew down to his upper back and long bangs hanging over his unusual glowing blue eyes. He was wearing a black muscle shirt and black baggy jeans. Attached to his belt was two long bladed daggers with a green emerald encrusted in the handles. He was a good looking fellow, even though he did have a few battle scars here and there.

All he was doing was just standing there at the water's edge, just staring. His name was Jake. Or at least that was what he called himself. He never told his travel companion his real name. He was always quiet when it came to his history. But so was his companion. The only thing he had told her was that he had been working for a farmer near Rocket Town with his land. He had been helping them for a while to help repay them for their kindness they had shown to him. Eventually while he was was off doing business for the family, he came back to ruins. Someone had completely destroyed the farm and killed the family. Out of rage, he began searching for the killers with only blind hope that he would find them and pay them back for what they did. That was how he met her.

Her, happened to be a very young woman.

They had met while he was travelling near the Rocket Town coast. They had happened to be passing by each other when they were both attacked by strange and unusual creatures. Together they fought the monsters and destroyed them. Then they made their introductions and soon became travelling companions.

Both of them were just travelling blindly, not caring where they were going only as long as they were going to find what they were looking for. They didn't do very much talking, though Jake like to annoy the yound woman very much by asking about a million questions and just yapping off his lips. She chose to ignore him though.

The young woman was standing near the lake's edge, just looking around. She had been standing there for quite a long time as if looking for something that didn't seem to be there.

She was at least 20 years old and built for speed. She had blood red hair that was cut to her shoulders. Two silver rings were braided into her hair with long black ribbons hanging from them to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were glowing lavender. She wore black and red leather pants and a black and red tank top that stopped just above her belly button. Hanging on her back was a long bladed sword and on her loose belt, she had a gun on resting in it's holster. And around her neck was a black collar with a blood red jewel encrusted on a flat peice of metal. It was no bigger than a coin. She was quite the young beauty.

And she called herself, Eden Black.

She was just standing there gazing into the water as if trying to see something. She had been standing there for at least an hour. She was thinking heavily about something, just by the look of concentration etched on her pretty face. It sometimes annoyed her companion when she thought to herself too much, which she did a lot.

Jake was starting to get impatient. He shifted his weight to his other foot. "Yo, Ed. How long are you going to be standing there?" He asked finally.

Eden tilted her head to the side as if to look over her shoulder. She remained quiet as she looked back into the water before shaking her head. She turned around and faced Jake. Her lavender eyes met her companion's glowing blue ones. "I don't know what brought me here, Jake. I just thought there might be answers here. There's something about this place." She said quietly as she walked towards him.

Jake just shrugged. "It's the City of the Ancients, Eden. This place is just creepy, like you. But it doesn't mean anything."

Eden crinkled her nose as she gave him a look for calling her creepy but she was used to his teasing by now.

They had been travelling together for about six months now. She had learned that Jake did quite a lot of joking. She knew that he didn't mean any of it. He was a cheerful out going guy, not any of her qualities at all.

While she was the quiet, serious, and not very fun type, Jake was the loud, obnoxious, joking kind of guy. He tried his hardest to get Eden to laugh. But he never had such luck. She had completely forgotten to laugh. She never even told him about herself at all. She was not a very open person but he never minded at all.

"So, what now? You ever find what you're looking for here?" Jake asked as they turned and walked down the pathway to the exit of the forest.

Eden just shook her head. "I don't know what I'm looking for. I just follow my dreams where ever they take me." She placed her hand against her head. "I kept dreaming of places I've never seen before. I don't know why I'm dreaming them."

Jake shrugged. "Ah, don't worry about it, Eden. Whatever you're looking for, we'll find it."

Eden looked up at him before looking away. "If only I figure out what I'm looking for, Jake."

Jake nodded as he ducked under a low branch. "Just hang on, Eden. In the mean time, why don't we go rest. Maybe you'll have another freaky dream." he said. Eden smirked as she looked at him. Jake grinned down at her. "Hey! I see that! Glad to see that you're starting to crack." He said. Eden rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She said as they slowly left the crystal tree forest and started down another path.

They walked in silence as they approached one of the sea shell houses. "Hey, Eden. I know you don't like talking about yourself, but seriously we've been friends for quite a while. Say something about yourself." Jake finally said as they went into the house.

Eden was quiet for a very long time before shaking her head. "There's nothing interesting about me, Jake. Nothing that I would tell you anyway. No offense."

Jake plopped down in one of the chairs. "Eden, why all the mysteriousness? Is your past really that bad?" He asked. Eden turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised. She was quiet for a minute as she stared at him. "Jake, the only thing I will tell you is that I have been alone for my entire life. And I do not like answering questions."

Jake crinkled his nose. "You're telling me."

Eden started to walk up the curved floorway to go upstairs before pausing. She then turned around. "I was inflirated with the old ShinRa Inc,." She told him.

Jake looked at her before smiling faintly. "Me too."

Eden stared at him for a minute before turning away and leaving him to himself. She went upstairs to one of the bedrooms and laid on the bed staring up at the twisted roof, one arm folded behind her head. Her thoughts drifting off again.

Several hours later, she still had been awake for quite a while even though she had said she was going to sleep. She could hear the gentle snores of Jake from below. It almost made her smirk to think about it. No matter how much he denied it, he did snore.

Eden continued to stare upward when she felt a gentle warmth filled her insides. She closed her eyes as she listened to the soft melody flowing inside her head. The demon inside was singing again. She loved to listen to the demon's song. It helped soothe her mind and kept her at ease.

That was another thing that Eden didn't tell Jake about. It was the fact that she was a host to a demon. Not just any demon, not one that was evil and always tried to do bad. No, this demon was a kind and gentle demon. A Phoenix demon. How she had became a host to such a creature, it was not by accident. She remembered it too well. She remembered the day she had recieved the demon. And she remembered how she hated the man that did it to her. Not that it mattered anymore. For he was dead now. She had heard the story before. A group called Avalanche had killed him. She didn't know anything about the group, nor that she cared to know about them.

She was actually on a search to find herself. To find out who she really was. If only she could find the man she once thought of as a father. She knew that he would tell her as much as he could. But the problem was, she didn't even know if he was alive. She had tried to find any trace of him but no such luck at all. Anyone she had asked never heard of the man.

As she laid there, a thought came to her. She could always go back to the place where she had escaped from. Hopefully there would be answers there. She opened her eyes as she thought about it. She had made her decision. She was going back.

She was starting to sit up when there was a black flash. She tightly closed her eyes and grabbed her head. She gasped as she felt pain.

In her mind she could see icy blue eyes glaring at her. There was a cold breeze blowing on her as the pain intensified. She gritted her teeth in trying to hold the pain in. Then she couldn't take it anymore. She gave a cry in pain. She rolled off the bed onto her knees and just held her head.

Just then a hand laid on her shoulder, pulling her back to reality. The pain vanished like it was nothing. "Eden! What is it?" She heard Jake's voice. Eden's eyes snapped open as she continued to just kneel there. Her heart was racing before she gritted her teeth and looked up at Jake. "Jake, something's wrong. We have to go to Nibelhiem." Jake just stepped back in surprise then he frowned as he tilted his head.

* * *

Meanwhile, near the Junon shore, a young man had been sitting on the sand staring off at the horizen for hours. He had been in Junon for quite a while, yet he could not remember who he was.

Only several months ago, he had woken up in this very spot and could not remember a thing. He had also been naked when he awoke. He wondered why he had not been wearing any cloths. The people of Junon had been kind to him and let him stay with them. They had given him cloths and a roof to live under. He worked hard to pay them back by helping them clean up the polluted waters as much as they could. He had befriended a few fishermen while doing so and including a young girl who had made friends with a dolphin.

The young man was quite a strange man. He was at least 24 years old, so he had guessed himself. He had long silver hair that ran down his back and hung over his strange blue-green eyes. The strangest thing about him was his eyes. They were cat like. The pupils were slits like a cat's eyes. He was quite thin and pale yet he was growing a tan from being out in the sun so much.

The young man wasn't sure what his name but the people called him Lex, so he went by that name.

Lex was sitting there gazing off. He didn't know what it was about the water but he liked it. He felt a connection to the water. Especially to the ocean. It had been his bringer to Junon. He knew that he had been carried upon the water. Yet he had not died on the water's surfaces. He was told that he was lucky he had not drowned. But there was just that something about the ocean. He believed that the water would have not let him die. Some of the people only laughed when he said that but he didn't seem to mind. He was quite the silent one too. He hardly ever spoke unless he was spoken to.

Lex glanced over his shoulder when he heard someone calling him. He saw that it was the old man that he was staying with. The man walked over to him.

"Lex, it's well near dinner time. Why are you still out here?"

Lex shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet and brushed the sand off his cloths. "I wanted to see the sunset upon the water, Mr. Tomoe." He said quietly. Mr. Tomoe just gave him a gentle smile and nodded. "All right. You may stay out a little longer, son. Just come as soon as the sun is down. You shouldn't be out after dark, remember?"

Lex just nodded as he looked back out at the water. He knew Mr. Tomoe was still standing behind him. "What are you thinking, Lex?" the old man asked. Lex glanced over at him before shrugging. "A lot of things." Was his only answer. The people of Junon was used to his short replies. They knew he didn't like talking too much.

Mr. Tomoe was quiet for a minute before he turned away. Lex turned back around to look at him. "You may stay." he said quickly.

The old man turned his head to look at him before faintly smile. "I know I may, Lex. But you know how I am about the dark. Monsters come out if we are not careful. I am not as young as I used to be. If I am not careful, I could be killed." he said. Lex watched him for a minute before shaking his head. "You have been kind to me, Mr. Tomoe. I will not let a monster harm you."

The old man smiled softly at him. "That is kind of you, Lex. But you shouldn't worry about me. I am old and my time is soon to come. People do not live forever. Nothing does. When I die, I will be allowed to either go to the Promised Land or be reborn into a whole new being. You never know."

Lex looked troubled at the sound of that. He looked back out at the water. "I wish no one would have to die."

The old man just smiled as he reached over and patted the young man on the shoulder. "Do not fear death, Lex. Death is only the ending of an adventure and the beginning of a new one. Believe me, my young friend. I am not afraid of death. I never was."

The two of them just stood side by side until the sun started to fade behind the ocean's rim and the colors in the sky were blood red and fading to a powdered pink color. Lex sighed as he lowered his head. Mr. Tomoe looked at him. "Lex, what's wrong?"

Lex just shook his head. "I just wish I could remember who I am, who I was."

Mr. Tomoe nodded still smiling warmly. "Well, one things for sure. Whoever you were before, I'm sure you were one of the most kindest young men there ever was." He said. Lex looked at him before faintly smiling. Mr. Tomoe tossed his head towards the town. "Let's go home now." He said. Lex nodded and they began to walk back.

It was after dark before Reno woke up again. Everyone had been so worried about him. As soon as he had passed out, Tifa had Rude and Rufus carry him upstairs so she could take care of him. While the three men were downstairs occupying the children, Tifa had to remove Reno's jacket and shirt so she could see what wounds he had. His wounds were not that serious. True he was bleeding from his forehead and he had a gash in his arm but they were not really life threatening. She had washed off all the blood and wrapped his wounds. As soon as she did that, she covered him up with a blanket before going back downstairs to tell the three men about Reno's wounds.

And while they waited for Reno to wake up again, they talked about what he had said before he blacked out. Tifa explained to Cloud about the phone call and the package she was suppose to go pick up. Cloud was angry about what had happened. He swore that he would find out who had made that call before chasing them and probably cutting them to pieces.

And as soon as the sun went down, Tifa sent all of the children upstairs to bed. But they were to be quiet because Reno was still resting. It was only an hour after dark before he woke up and went back downstairs. Everyone had been relieved to see that he was up and about, thought Tifa suggested that he shouldn't be.

"Tifa, I don't need a mother right now. I need a strong drink." He muttered as he clambered onto the stool, wincing only once from the pain in his arm.

The men all just smirked and shook their heads while Tifa glared at him. But she figured that a drink wouldn't hurt. She made him one of her HolyMeteor drinks, which was pretty strong with alcohol. Reno drank it silently with pleasure in his eyes.

"So what happened, Reno?" Rufus asked as he folded his arms and rested against the counter.

Reno looked over at him. "Nothing that you probably hadn't figured out. I just went to the place where the man said to be and went in to get the package. I was just leaving when the damn thing started ticking. You guys know me, I get curious. I opened the stupid thing up to see what was ticking in the box and it was a time bomb." he said shaking his head and running his fingers through his red hair. "When I find out who put that damn bomb in that box, the guy is going to die." He growled.

Cloud tilted his head. "You'll have to beat me to him first. That bomb must have been for Tifa or me and not you."

Reno gave him a cool look. "Strife, I don't care who that bomb was for. I'm the one who got blown right out the door when I was trying to run for it. It's gonna be a race to get the guy. If I get him first, I am not just going to sit around and wait for you to show up to skin this guy. I'm going to kill him."

Tifa folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "Guys, guys. Stop bickering. The only thing we have to worry about right now is who the guy is."

The four men just nodded in agreement.

"Tifa, try to think. You said you heard that voice before. Who did the voice remind you of?" Cloud asked.

Tifa sighed as she tried to think. She was quiet for a long time. "I really don't know, Cloud. And I'm sure I don't even know who owned that voice. It was a voice that I heard only once before. But it could have been such a long time ago."

Cloud nodded as he folded his arms. His eyes went back to the black dust. "It'll come back to us some time. But in the mean time, we should probably turn our attention onto this." he said picking the bottle up.

Reno stared at the dust. His eyes squinted. "Wait a sec. What is that stuff?"

The other four looked at him. They had just remembered that Reno had not been presented the first time. So Cloud explained what it was and how he got it to Reno.

Reno's eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at the bottle. He then scratched his head. "I've seen those crystals before." He announced. Everyone looked at him sharply. "What?! You have?! Where?!" Cloud asked sitting up straighter on his stool. Reno shook his head. "Not sure. It was a while ago. At least three or four years back." he tried to think. "I think it was in Hojo's old lab."

Everyone looked at one another. "Hojo's lab? That doesn't help that much, Reno. Besides, Hojo's dead." Cloud said. Reno shrugged. "Hey, you just asked me where I saw it. So I told you."

Tifa pushed her bangs back. "So what are we going to do?"

Cloud folded his arms again and tried to think. "There's really not that much we can do. I guess we can just go on with what were doing before."

Rufus looked at him. "What about the man that nearly killed Reno? What are you going to do about him?"

Cloud shook his head as he tossed his bangs out of his eyes. "I don't know about that. If Tifa or I were really the target he was after, he's going to find out that he failed to destroy us. He'll probably try it again. But the next time, we'll be ready for him." he said. Rude silently folded his arms. "How?" He asked. Cloud looked away slightly annoyed. "I haven't thought of it yet. But it will come to me soon." He said. Tifa shook her head as she took the empty glass away from Reno and placed it into the sink behind her. "We shouldn't think about it right now. It's getting late and I have to get up early." She said. The four men nodded as they all stood.

"Where are you guys staying?" Tifa asked looking at Rufus, Reno and Rude. The three looked at one another before shrugging. "Reeve has an apartment he's been letting us borrow while he's at Gold Saucer. Dio broke something again and he's asked Reeve to go fix it." Reno said shrugging.

Tifa nodded. "It's not far, is it?" She asked. Rufus shook his head. "Not really. Just a few blocks away from here but we can walk."

"It's not very safe for anyone after dark, Shinra." Cloud said as he shook his head.

Rufus eyed him for a second. "Strife, we can take care of ourselves." He said. Cloud shook his head. "I didn't say you couldn't. I don't really care about what happens to you because I still don't trust you. But I just don't think it'd be okay. Reno is still hurt from the explosion and if the three of you were caught by some thugs, he won't be able to fight in his condition. No offense, Reno. But you can't fight with a hurt arm. And it will only make you vulnerable and easy to defeat."

Reno didn't say anything but then nodded. "He's got a point. My arm hurts like a bitch and it's my fighting arm. I use my right to hold up my electrorod." He shrugged. "Sure, I could use my left but I'm much slower with it."

Rufus sighed shaking his head as he rubbed his temples. "Fine, fine. What do you suggest then?"

Tifa shrugged. "Well, I do have some extra rooms. You could stay here for the night then head back to Reeve's apartment." She said. Rufus, Reno and Rude looked at each other before they all shrugged. "Well, if you really insist, we'll stay." Rufus said. Tifa nodded. "Okay. Let me take you up there." She said starting towards the stairs.

Cloud followed behind the men as Tifa lead them up the stairs. They were being as quiet as they could so they didn't disturb the children. And once they were settled, Tifa lead Cloud to one of the extra rooms close to her room. It only had Marlene and Denzel sleeping in it. He didn't mind at all. Then Tifa went to sleep in her room.

However, one of the children did not have pleasant dreams at all. In fact it was Marlene. She tossed and turned in her bed throughout the night as she dreamed horrible things. She had dream that she was running in the darkness. She didn't know what it was from only that it was something evil. She could feel it chasing after her. She hear the cruel laughter behind her. Marlene kept on running as fast as she could, just trying to get away from it. Just then she came to a cliff side. She looked down to see below and saw a neverending void. It was like if she jumped off the cliff, she would fall forever. She spun around gasping for breath. Her eyes widened seeing an eerie blue color fading out from the darkness. Wicked blue eyes were glaring at her yet they seemed to smile evilly. It was coming closer and closer. She wanted it to go away. Marlene cringed as it came closer. A horrific monster was starting to form in front of her. She only cried out in fear as clawed hand reached towards her.

"Marlene, wake up, honey."

Marlene's eyes shot open and she shot up from the bed only to collide with someone. She just threw her arms around that person, not caring who it was. Her heart was pounding against her chest and she started crying. Two strong arms wrapped around her and held her closer to his chest. Cloud and Tifa looked at one another as the girl continued to cry with worry.

Cloud had heard Marlene crying out in her sleep and that was what woke him up. It also woke up Denzel, who immediately ran out of the room to get Tifa. Cloud had went straight to Marlene to try and wake her up. At first it didn't seem to work but then after Tifa had entered and hurried over to Cloud's side and spoke to Marlene, she woke up. In fact, she woke up the rough way. Her nightmare had sent her flying right into Cloud's chest and he could only wrap his arms around her to steady her.

After awhile, when Marlene was finally calmed down, she told them what she had been dreaming about.

Tifa smiled faintly as she sat next to her and pushed her bangs back out of her eyes. "It's okay, Marlene. You're safe. There's no monsters coming to get you." She said gently.

Marlene sniffed her tears away as she leaned against the martial artist. "Tifa, will you stay with me until I fall asleep again?"

Tifa smiled down at her and nodded. "Sure." She said softly and she laid down beside Marlene while she looked at Denzel who was just sitting on his bed watching his friend. "Denzel, you should go back to sleep. It's only after midnight and you have school in the morning."

Denzel looked uncertain but slowly nodded as he tucked himself into bed. Tifa looked over at Cloud who was still looking over at her. He gave her a faint smile. "She'll be okay." He whispered to her.

Tifa nodded faintly smiling back at him. She closed her eyes and rest her head against Marlene's, while Cloud stayed awake for the rest of the night. He wanted to think of what he was going to do next. He just quietly walked over to the window and looked up at the white moon in the sky.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter III:**

Before the sun dawned, Tifa had woken up to find that Cloud was not in his bed. She looked down at Marlene, who was now peacefully sleeping beside her. She smiled faintly as she carefully freed herself from Marlene's arms and then went down stairs to get breakfast started for the children. And to find out where Cloud had gone. She found him downstairs pouring him a cup of coffee. He looked up just as she came in and gave her a smile.

"Good morning. Did you sleep all right?" Tifa asked.

Cloud shrugged as he placed the pot back on the burner. "Up until early this morning when Marlene had her nightmare." He shook his head. "I couldn't go back to sleep after it. I just stayed up for the rest of the night trying to figure out the black dust and green crystals problem."

Tifa went over and poured herself a cup. "What have you sorted out?"

Cloud sat down at the bar island. "Not much. I was thinking about what Reno said about the dust. I think I might just want to go browse around in the old ShinRa headquarters. Just to see if there might be anything that might tell us about these crystals or anything." He gave a light shrug. "I also want to see some of Hojo's old records on what he used to create. We all know he was quite the inventor when it came to creating monsters."

Tifa tilted her head. "Do you think Rufus Shinra will care if you go snooping through the ruins? I know there's no more ShinRa Inc, but still, it his property. He's still alive."

"Rufus Shinra isn't going to give a damn as long as he goes with." They heard his voice.

Tifa and Cloud looked up just as Rufus was coming down the stairs and fixing his shirt. He finally looked at the two. "I overheard that last bit as I was coming down. Like I just said, I don't care if you go snooping through that hunk of scrap pile of a headquarters. As long as I'm allowed to go with. There's a few things in my old office I need to get that may be an assisstance."

Cloud just continued to watch him. "What kind of things?"

Rufus eyed him cautiously. He was quiet for a long time as he slowly made his way towards them. "Hojo's old files. You won't find his records in the old lab. Before I lost everything, I had his personal records locked up in a safe in my office. I didn't sleep very much last night, myself. I was up half the night thinking about a few things." He shook his head. "By the sound of these new monsters that are appearing, they sound a little like what Hojo had tried creating before. Unfortunately for him, Old Man Shinra had refused to let him create such things. I only just remembered about those files."

Cloud and Tifa looked at one another. Then the blonde shrugged as he drained his coffee and stood up. "As long as I get to see these files, then I will let you come with. But no funny business."

Rufus rose one of his thin eyebrows. "Cloud, tell me exactly, how in the world would I try something funny when I'm still trying to recover from my illness? I may have been a fool back then, but I'm not one now. I know you can kick my ass. Even though I still have this." he pulled back his long, white overcoat and revealed his shotgun.

Cloud smirked as he went over to the back room to get his sword he had hidden from the children. "I see you're no longer the fool I thought you to be."

Rufus cocked his head to the side as he smirked right back. "Glad you noticed. So you going now or later?"

Cloud shook his head. "I want to get it over and done with now. I'm anxious on finding out about those files."

Rufus nodded before he heard someone behind him. He looked over his shoulder and found Reno and Rude coming down. Both of them were eyeing the two blondes. "You going somewhere without us?" Reno asked smirking. Cloud and Rufus looked at one another before they both shrugged. "Reno, you're still hurt. I would rather you stay here. Rude, you come with us." Rufus said.

Reno pulled a face as he began to stretch. "Hey! I am not hurt anymore! I'm feeling a lot better." he said indignitly.

Tifa shook her head. "Reno, we don't want to take the chance. Besides, I could use a little help getting the children up. Why don't you just stay and help me?" She suggested. Reno pulled a face before he folded his arms. "All right. I'll stick around and help babysit. Not that I really want to. I might just as well fix up my bike while I'm at it too." He grumbled. Everyone just smiled or shook their heads. Cloud looked over at Rufus and Rude. "Let's go now." he said. The two nodded and the three of them headed towards the door. "Cloud, just be careful. If you need anything, call and I'll send Reno after you." Tifa called after them. Cloud just turned around and nodded. Then he left with the Ex-President of ShinRa Inc, and the Turk.

The three of them just walked down the street, since there were three of them and one motorcyle to ride. Reno would have let them take his, if only it hadn't been wrecked. Because of the explosion from the day before, it had been knocked over and a few debris had landed on it. So it wasn't exactly in the right shape to ride. So the three just had to walk. Cloud pretty much lead the way towards the old neighborhood. They didn't say a word as they walked. They were very unaware that they were being watching from above.

A shadowy figure up on the roof tops was looking down at the three. His glowing green eyes were glaring towards Cloud with such a hated look in them. The person's face was hidden under a dark brown hooded cloak. Only the bottom half of the man's face was revealed from under the hood and on the end of his chin was a thin goatee. He was very tall and thin looking but he did have very broad shoulders. He looked like he was built to be a fighter. A strand of dark hair fell from under the hood as he lowered himself closer to the cement wall. His green eyes narrowed onto the three below him.

"There you are, Strife." The man whispered in a low voice.

His thin lips curled into a smirk as he slowly began walking along the roof top, stalking the ones below. His two short bladed swords bounced a little against his legs. He continued to stalk his soon to be victims.

Cloud, Rufus and Rude had finally found the center of the city where the ruins of the Headquarters was still standing. Half of the building was still standing, just only it was missing the top of it. It was the part where the Diamond Weapon had blown up and where Cloud had battled Kadaj and Sephiroth. All around the building was debris of metal and stone. It was just quite the mess. Cloud stopped at the foot of a large chunk of concrete. Rufus and Rude stopped by his sides. They all looked up at the building.

"Well, let's go get our stuff." Cloud said before starting towards it.

Rufus and Rude only glanced at each other and started after him. The three climbed over slabs of concrete and scrap piles, making their way to where there was a large stairway. Without any hesitation at all, they began climbing them.

"Where do you want to go first? The labs or get the files?" Rufus asked as he continued to climb right after Cloud. Rude at his side. Cloud glanced at him. "Well since the labs are on the way up there, we should make a stop there and try to find anything." Rude nodded in agreement. So they continued to hurry up the stairs.

They had gone up at least 40 floors before stopping to rest. All three were slightly out of breath.

"You know, I'm starting to wish the power was still on here so we could just use the elevator." Rufus said leaning against the wall. Cloud glanced over at him but smirked. He shook his head as he straightened up again. "No use complaining about it now. It's not very far now, isn't it?"

Rufus shrugged as he stood up straight again. "We have only fifteen more floors to go up." He told them. Cloud nodded and they continued to go up the stairs.

Finally they reached the floor where the labs were kept. It was very dusty and there were plants growing all over the place. Broken glass was scattered everywhere. There was still dried blood all over the walls and floor. At least there was no bodies. The three men looked at one another as they walked around. It was the very room where Hojo had once kept Jenova. Cloud could see the old chamber where Jenova had been. It was empty like it should have been. He turned around and looked at the chamber behind him. It was where they had first seen Red XIII.

"So where should we start?" Rude asked as he gave an old box a kick, breaking a hole into it. He stepped back away from it to examine it. It was full of strange and unusual objects.

Cloud looked over his shoulder at him. He just shrugged. "Let's look anywhere. If you see anything that might help, bag it."

The other two just nodded and began looking around. They began searching the wooden crates, which didn't seem to help very much at all. That was then Rufus began to notice something. His eyes gazed over a few crates that they hadn't even touched. They were already open. He tilted his head before looking towards the empty Jenova chamber. There seemed to be a few things missing from there too. "Wait." he muttered. Cloud had heard him say it. He turned to look at him. He stared at the Ex-President as he went over and began looking at some of the crates. Then Rufus backed away. "Someone's already been in these boxes."

Rude turned around from the box he had just opened. "Huh?"

Rufus shook his head. "We haven't even touched these boxes yet. But they're opened already. Someone has been here." He then shook his head. "I'm going to go up to my office and get those files now. I think we shouldn't be here anymore."

Cloud then nodded. "You're right. I don't think there's anything in these labs for us." He said. The three of them continued to go up the remained floors to get to the top of the bulding, all three hoping there was something still there.

As soon as they arrived, they were in luck to find Rufus's office still there, yet in quite the mess. Rufus made his way to a half burned up desk. Only to halt in his footsteps and just stand there. Cloud and Rude just glanced at one another before looking back at him. "Rufus?" The Turk asked. Cloud stepped forward. "Where's the files? We should get them now and get out."

Rufus continued to stand still. His eyes slightly wide at what he was looking at. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say I already gotten them."

Both Cloud and Rude blinked in surprised then hurried forward. They saw what he was looking at. It was a black, melted lump of metal in the corner. Half of the door had been melted away and torn off.

"Rufus, is that your safe?" Cloud asked already knowing the answer.

Rufus nodded as he quickly went forward and bent down in front of it. He pulled the safe door open only to see that it was completely empty. "Oh, god. This is impossible! This safe is indestructable! It can not be destroyed!" He exclaimed as he stood.

Cloud swore heavily as he turned away. "Looks like it's not. Someone has gotten into it. And those files you said that were in there could have been the answers we were looking for!" He said in annoyance.

Rufus gave a low frustrated sigh as he stood up. He turned around and began looking around the room. "We need those files, Cloud! There was some vital information in them! Very important documents!"

Cloud gave him a look. "Well it doesn't seem to be here, now does it?!" He growled a low growl. He then shook his head. "Do you remember what was in those records?"

Rufus ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to think. "I had them so I didn't have to remember." He sighed as tightly closed his eyes. "There was a lot of information about Hojo. They were records of what he did ever since he joined ShinRa Inc,. Some of them were some experiments he had been working on his entire life. I remember when I read them I didn't like them at all. I should have had them destroyed the very minute I finished looking them over but I didn't. Shortly after ShinRa Inc, fell I was going to use his work to rebuild the company. But that was before I became ill with the Geostigma."

Cloud shook his head sighing in his own frustration. Rude began walking around the ruined office, looking for any trace of who could have taken the files. "This is not good. Not good at all." Cloud said as he began looking around himself. Rufus went to searching around the desk, thinking maybe the files were there somewhere.

Just then there was a rumble making all three freeze. They slowly looked around at one another. "Uh, what was that?" Cloud asked. There was another rumble and the ground started to tremble. It was like it was only a small tremor. There was a sound like rocks were getting moved around.

Suddenly from the middle of the room, a huge mound in the floor began to grow and crack. There was a loud snap and something very big and thin came pushing it's way out of the ground. Cloud, Rufus and Rude stepped back in alarm. Both blondes immediately made for their weapons. If it was weird enough, a huge slit at the end opened up and four whip like tongues slithered out and waved around in the air. It was a giant purple worm.

"What in the hell?!" Cloud exclaimed as he stepped back.

The worm turned it's head in his direction. Rufus pulled out his shotgun and aimed. "Um, Cloud. I think it heard you."

The worm just seemed to look at them before it hissed and whipped out it tongue out at them.

"Scatter!" Cloud yelled jumping the side.

Rufus and Rude quickly jumped back just as the tongue slammed down on the ground. Another one whipped out and wrapped around Cloud's foot.

"What the?!" He exclaimed before he was jerked upward and hung upside down.

Another tongue wrapped aroud his middle and was starting to pull him towards the mouth. Rufus quickly rose his shotgun and aimed. It only took him a second to decide where to shoot before he pulled the trigger. With a loud blast, his shot sliced through one of the tongues holding Cloud making him fall down again. There was a loud shriek of pain from the creature.

The Blonde swordsman landed on his feet as he covered his ears and winced in pain.

Rude rushed forward and began punching the creature's under belly. He gritted his teeth as he jumped away. "It's made out of rock!" He called to them.

Cloud held up his sword with one hand and threw out another. "Well then, let's weaken the thing! Water 2!" He then threw the spell and bubble of water surrounded the beast and then slammed it into the ground. The monster just hissed in pain.

Rufus began taking shots towards head, hoping that was the weak spot. Rude quickly went around it and began making shots there.

Just then the three remaining tongues lashed out at once and wrapped around Rufus. He tried to jump back but it wasn't in time. The tongues wrapped around his waist and arms, pulling him towards the mouth. Rufus's eyes darkened as he aimed at the inside of the worm's mouth before firing heavily. Each bullet hit directly and blew right back out through the back of the worm's head.

The worm gave a loud shriek of pain before bursting into black dust and green crystals. Rufus dropped down, landing on his feet but went to his knees from landing so hard. All three of them were out of breath.

"What...huff...was that?!" Rufus exclaimed as he forced himself to stand.

Cloud slid his sword into his scabbard before leaning against the wall still trying to catch his breath. "Whatever it was, it was trouble. Something's not right. And I'm going to find out what the hell is going on." he said before turning and starting out. Rufus and Rude nodded as they began following him.

The man in the shadows had laid a hand on his weapon ready to jump down and attack Cloud before stopping. His green eyes squinted as his mouth curled into a grimace.

"No. Not yet, Drake. You must do it when he is alone." He whispered to himself. He then looked away to his left. "I want my revenge." He hissed at himself.

There was a long silence before he turned his head to the right. "I know you do, Drake. But you must wait. You attack him now, his friends there will attack back to defend him. You are a mighty warrior but you just saw how they fought just now. They would over come you in seconds. You must train." He whispered to himself again.

The man turned around and walked to a hole in the wall, peering down towards the newly built part of the city. Towards the sign that said 7th Heaven. "And do not forget what your true mission is, Drake. What your new employer has ordered you to do." He whispered.

The man, Drake, slowly nodded before releasing his blade's handle. "You are right, as always. I will wait." He just stood there gazing towards the city.

Far from there, across the ocean on a very small island, a young man was tossing kindle into a pile. He had been on that island for a short time, yet he was only buying his time before he would leave. He remembered the day he had been discovered by the people on the island.

He had woken up at the break of dawn only to discover he did not know who he was. He could not remember how he had gotten on that island or why he was bare naked. He had not one shed of cloths on his body. He remembered how embarrassed he had been when he had when the people had found him sitting on the sandy beach trying to think of what he should do. They had been very kind to him the very first day.

However, he had done a foolish deed of trying to "borrow" boat to leave the island, along with stealing a few valuables. The people of the island had decided to punish him by bounding him to the island until he worked of his debt. So he wasn't really that happy of being there.

He was a very young man, just barely reaching his 20's. He had slightly long hair, running down to his shoulder blades; silver white, almost the color of star dust in the sky. His long silver strands hung over his strange yellow-green, cat like eyes. He was a little short but definitely built for speed. He had the look like he had been training before. His skin was a little pale but he had a tad of a tan from working out under the tropical sun.

The name he was going by on the island was Kale.

Kale turned away from the kindle pile and looked over at his work partner. The man was older than him, maybe in his 30's. This man was one of the few who was a little rude to Kale. He didn't take to Kale at all when he had first joined him and his people on the island. Most of the people hadn't. Kale had always wondered why some of the islanders didn't like him. It was like he had reminded them of someone they didn't like. He didn't understand.

Kale walked over to where the man was chopping some branches from a falling tree. "Tilar, it's nearly noon. Don't we get a lunch break?"

Tilar stopped chopping and gave him a look. His dark eyes on the younger man. "What, you're tired of your work now?" He asked moodily.

Kale just stood completely still. "No."

Tilar rolled his eyes as he turned away. "Sure, you lazy little lout. Be gone and send Couger to take your place." He growled. Kale gritted his teeth as his temper started to flare up. He had to clench his fist to try to calm down. Trying not to lose his temper, he turned away. "Fine." He shot before starting away.

Tilar turned back around. "You know, your not going to be able to work off your debt if you keep blowing off the work you're suppose to do." He called after Kale. Kale just stopped in his footsteps as he glanced over his shoulder. He just stood there, motionless. Tilar gave a short harsh laugh. "You're going to be working for me till you're an old man at this rate." He taunted.

Kale turned around and narrowed his eyes at Tilar. "You're not even going to live that long, Tilar." He hissed at him. That surprised the older man but before he could retort, Kale hurried away.

He was hurrying back towards the old town. He was living on Mideel. The people there was trying to rebuild the village that was once there. It would have been done by now if it wasn't for the tropical storms that kept coming up. There had been quite a lot of storms lately, always ruining the opportunity of rebuilding the village. But Kale liked them. He didn't know why he loved the storms. It must have been the rain. He really liked the smell of rain. It was just soothing to him. The smell of the water hitting the ocean's water, the feeling of the cool drops touching his skin. He felt almost a connection to the water.

As he walked back, he caught sight of the only person that actually was nice to him in Mideel. Her name was April and she was older than him. She was perhaps in her late 30's, and Kale knew she had a young son that was about seven years old.

She was was on her way back to the village, carrying a basketfull of berries, probably just getting back from berry picking hour. April smiled when she saw Kale coming her way but paused seeing the foul look on his face. "Kale, what's wrong?" Her voice almost as sweet as the berries she had picked.

Kale sighed as he stopped near her. "I hate this place, April. I don't want to be here anymore."

April gave him a scolding look. "Hey, hey. Watch it. This is my home you're talking about. It's not a bad place."

Kale shrugged. "Well, it's beautiful here, yeah. But it's just Tilar."

April gave him an understanding look. "Oh, I see. Tilar been picking on you again, has he?" She asked. Kale shrugged again. "All I wanted to do was take a lunch break and he blows up in my face." He said. April shook her head. "Don't mind Tilar so much, Kale. He just doesn't understand children and teenagers. He's never had a child before and he's a very hard working man. He doesn't believe in taking breaks until the job is finished or the end of the day."

Kale shook his head and rolled his eyes, replying quite sarcastically, "You're telling me."

April just laughed before she gently pushed one of his long strands of silver bangs out of his eyes. "You just hang in there, Kale. If you be patient, your debt will pass by quickly." She told him.

Kale gave her a faint smile. "Thanks, April."

April just smiled at him before she held out the basket. "So, how about a few sweet berries." She said. Kale just smiled and nodded as he took a few berries and they walked together towards the village.

Back in Midgar, the three men had returned to Tifa's bar, who was just as surprised as Reno when they heard about the attack. They all sat down and started talking about it. Marlene and Denzel had been sent off to school for the day, while the younger children were out back playing in the yard.

"So, where do you think that worm came from?" Reno asked after Cloud had explained on what happened.

Everyone just shook their heads. "No idea. But it was definitely something new. We have fought a lot of monsters in the past but we have never seen anything like that before." Cloud said.

Tifa sighed as she leaned against the counter. "Do you think someone is trying to finish what Hojo started?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise but shrugged. "Who knows." Reno said. Rufus shook his head. "Hojo wasn't too popular with anyone. Not even his research was very acceptable by others. He didn't have any friends at all."

Rude took off his sunglasses to wipe them. "Well, someone must have admired him. That monster just didn't pop out of no where."

Cloud nodded. "Rude's right. There's got to be someone who knows Hojo's research to do stuff like this. What kind of connections did he have with others?" He asked. Rufus looked away as he tried to think. His eyes narrowed as he tried to remember. "I'm not sure. Most of the scientists he ever worked with are either dead, or they were fired a long time ago. And he didn't have any family...but..." His eyes then lit up and his mouth fell wide open. Tifa and Cloud looked at one another.

"Rufus? What is it?" Reno asked.

Rufus gave a short laugh while face-palming. "Oh, you idiot of a Shinra, Rufus." he muttered to himself. He lowered his hand and looked at Cloud. "Hojo has a brother."

Everyone's eyes widened at the news. "What?!" They all said at once.

Rufus shook his head as he sat up straighter on his stool. "His name is Ryuu Hojo. He was at least ten years younger than Hojo. He wasn't exactly a high leveled scientist but he was brilliant. Just as smart as Hojo, and he did a few of his own experiments. Only they were not as crazy as Hojo's were. Dr. Ryuu, that's what everyone called him, did a few human experiements in the past. Some of them I didn't approve and that was what cost his job. But he could be the one behind all of this."

Tifa pushed her hair back behind her ear. "I didn't know Hojo had a brother. What was he like?"

Rufus shook his head. "Well, that's a little hard to explain. I didn't actually know Dr. Ryuu. We met only once. But he seemed like a kind man. I only heard that he was well respected by other scientists. So I suppose that he was very respectable. He was surely liked by Professor Gast when he was still alive."

Cloud shook his head. "His experiments, what did he do?"

Rufus scratched the back of his neck. "A few human experiments. In a way he was like Hojo. He was testing out Mako effects on people. And even creating his own little creatures. But they weren't as violent as Hojo's had been. He created a few plant like creatures. They were a similarity to the Marlboro, only very much smaller and not as dangerous. The last experiment that he had been doing involved a young girl. She was a little younger than myself. I don't know if his experiement on her ever succeeded but what they told me they were doing, I didn't allow it. I made them shut down the project they were working on. Dr. Ryuu wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but he told me it was probably for the best. Hojo was even more angrier about it. He asked me if he could continue working with the girl and I said no. I told them to release her and let her be. From what I found out, they had kidnapped the girl when was a very young girl and had been experimenting on her pretty much her entire life."

Tifa shook her head. "How terrible. What happened to her?"

Rufus shook his head. "I don't know. I never really asked about what she did once they released her. Unfortunately, not too long after the Weapons started attacking because Sephiroth had gotten the Black Materia, I found out that there was a terrible fire in the lab and it killed everyone but one person. The man that escaped was just an old assisstant to Hojo. He, um...sort of lost his mind after the fire. He kept saying that some kind of bird of fire had destroyed the entire lab. Then he didn't say anything again. He was insane."

Reno snorted. "Sure sounds like it."

Cloud was looking down at the counter as he just sat there. "What of this Dr. Ryuu? Was he killed in the fire?"

Rufus shook his head. "No. He left the lab only a day after I fired him. Just disappeared. No one ever saw him or heard from him again. No one really knows where he is or if he is even alive. But I can guarentee you this, he knows Hojo's work. If there is someone messing around and creating monsters by Hojo's research, it could be him."

Cloud sat up straighter. "So we have to find this Dr. Ryuu, if he is alive, and find out what he knows. But where would we find him?"

Rufus shook his head. "Like I said, no one has ever heard from him again since he was fired from ShinRa Inc,." He told him.

Tifa tilted her head. "Do you have any ideas though?"

Rufus put his chin into his hand. "Well, he could be anywhere. He could have returned to the Nibelhiem lab for all I know."

Cloud and Tifa's attention perked up. "What Nibelhiem lab? The one in the Shinra Mansion?" The pretty martial artist asked.

Rufus shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Nope. The Nibelhiem lab is a secret lab. No one knows about it except a few ShinRa Inc, executives and myself. It's hidden under ground, just outside of the town. I can't give you the exact address. You want to go there, you'd better take me with you to show you."

Cloud didn't like that idea but what choice did he have? He wanted to see this hidden lab, to look around. But he knew he wouldn't be able to find it on his own. He gave a frustrated sigh before looking at Rufus. "All right. Then we'll leave together." he said. Everyone looked at him.

"What?" Rufus asked in confusion.

Cloud just continued to stare at him. "I want to see this lab. It might have some information that we could use to figure out this puzzle."

Everyone was quiet then Rufus nodded. "All right. I'll take you to this lab. Not just because you asked so nicely," he said it in a sarcastic way. "But because I want answers as well. I need to find out who stole those files and why."

Cloud nodded. Reno and Rude glanced at one another. "Do you want us to go with you two?" The red head asked. The two blondes looked at one another, thinking the very same thing.

"No." They both said.

Reno and Rude did not look happy. "Why not?" Rude asked. Rufus glanced over at Tifa. "Because someone is out there trying to harm Tifa or Cloud. Remember that bomb, Reno? That bomb wasn't meant for you. It was meant for either Tifa or Cloud. She will need to be protected, no offense, Tifa."

Tifa shook her head. "None taken. I know you're right. I can defend myself but I can't defend the children and myself at the same time. I will need help in protecting them."

Reno and Rude glanced at one another then nodded. "You're right, Rufus. We'll stay here with Lockhart and the kids. But if you ever need help, give us a hollar and we'll come running." Reno said. Rude nodded.

Cloud stood up. "Okay. It's decided. Rufus and I will go to Nibelhiem and try to seek out this Dr. Ryuu. Hopefully, he is alive and he will be able to tell us what is going on. If he refused to help, then we'll kill him." He said. Rufus nodded.

They began to prepare for their long journey. Tifa gave Cloud some extra Materia just in case he needed it. She also lended Rufus some because he would need extra protection. He wouldn't be able to just fend off monsters with just his shotgun.

"Cloud, promise me something." Tifa said as Cloud checked his gear.

The blonde looked at her. "What?"

Tifa looked a little worried. "Promise me that you'll come out of this okay. Don't you go walking into any danger that might hurt you. I want you to come back safe, okay?" She asked. Cloud gave her a faint smile. "Don't worry. I will come out of this." He said. Tifa smiled at him before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his chest, into a hug. Cloud blinked a few times before smiling warmly. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her right back. "I'll be coming back, Tifa. And I will be safe. I promise." He whispered to her. Tifa smiled up at him as she pulled away. "Good." She then kissed him on the cheek then went back around the counter.

Cloud just stood there a little surprised but then smiled again. He turned towards Rufus who was still talking to Reno. The Ex-President looked back at him. The two just looked at one another before nodding. "Let's go now." Cloud said. Rufus nodded as he looked back at Reno. Reno gave him a very stern look. "I just fixed her up but don't you dare going ruining her, Rufus. I'm warning you. I love that bike more than I love alcohol. So if you trash her, I mean it. I will trash you." He warned.

Rufus rolled his eyes as he took the keys from him. "I won't trash it."

Reno gave him a very serious look before backing away.

"Good luck, you two. You're going to need it." Rude said.

Cloud and Rufus just nodded before they left the bar. Both climbed onto the motorcycles and kicked them alive. They only glanced back at the bar for a quick second before riding off side by side.

Author's Note: Now I know that might have been a little weird chapter but it does have it's reasons. And believe me, it will get so much more interesting in the upcoming chapters. So bear with the weirdness for now. Review please.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews, everyone. I'm glad you all are enjoying it. 'Cause, I'm really enjoying writing it.**

**Now then, in this chapter, a lot of things are going to happen and maybe at once. It's gonna go a little crazy in this chapter so bear with me. Also, Cloud and Rufus are going to have some very interesting talks that will probably bring them closer to being friends so don't get weirded out or anything. They're not sick. lol. And those strange silver haired guys you were asking about, you'll find out who they are in this chapter, though I was planning on doing it later. All well. Anyway, read and review, please.

* * *

****Chapter IV:**

The two of them had sped across the field, passing Kalm and made it to the mountain pass by dusk. They rode half way through before they decided to stop for the night. Cloud and Rufus pulled over into a clearing and made camp within minutes. They were just sitting in silence, eating some of their provisions and staring into the fire. Rufus was looking up at the star filled sky with wonder. Cloud had noticed the look in his eyes. He tilted his head as he bit a chunk out of his meat. He chewed and swallowed before he spoke. "You haven't seen the stars for awhile, have you?"

Rufus blinked a few times before looking at him. He then shook his head. "Not really. I was always too busy to star gaze. I was the President of the largest Industrial power company in the world and I never had time. Not even after I lost every thing. My company, my workers, every thing. I didn't even have time to star gaze while I was ill. I was too busy trying to get well."

Cloud slowly nodded after he bit into his meat again. "You know," He paused to swallow. "you wouldn't have ever got the chance if we had let you continue suck Mako out of the Planet. What happens if you slit your wrists and let yourself just bleed?"

Rufus stared at him before squinting an eye. "You would die. Is there a point to this?" He asked.

Cloud nodded as he took a drink from his canteen. "You just made it. You would die. Picture yourself as the planet and someone stabbed you in a very vital area and you were bleeding out gallons of blood. You're going to die because you can't stop the bleeding. That's exactly what your company was doing, Rufus Shinra. You were letting the Planet bleed to death. The Mako is the blood of the Planet. Without the Mako, the Planet was drying up. Everything was dying because it was. If we didn't blow up those Mako Reactors and try to stop you from doing it, everyone would have died. The Planet would have just turned black and everyone would have been killed." He told Rufus.

Rufus just had a disbelieving look. Cloud then began to explain to him what he had learned from Cosmos Canyon. Rufus didn't interrupt once. He only listened intentively. His eyes were gazing down at the ground with a very thoughtful look on his face. He was thinking everything through of what Cloud was telling him.

Finally Cloud finished telling him. Rufus looked troubled now. He shook his head slowly. "I would have destroyed the entire Planet and didn't even know it."

Cloud nodded. "I think your father knew that, he just didn't care."

Rufus didn't meet the other blonde's eyes. He only nodded. "Old Man Shinra didn't care about anyone but himself or for money. He wanted to be the richest man on the Planet, and when he was, he just wanted to be richer." He shook his head again. "He didn't even care about his own family."

Cloud looked directly at him, his mouth slightly open as he just looked at the blonde. Rufus was looking very bitter now. He still wouldn't look at Cloud. He just glared at the ground.

"You know something? Ever since I was very young, I did all I could to win my father's heart. I tried to succeed in every thing just to please him. I did my studies with my tutors, was the best of my grade. I was even the best sharpshooter. There was no one who could out shoot me. And when I tried to tell him how good I was getting, he never heard."

Cloud just remained quiet as he listened to him. His eyes were finally turned upward at the stars.

"He never heard a word I ever told him. I tried to show him my art. I was quite the artist for as young as I was. Everyone else always looked forward to seeing my artwork, but not my own father. He was never satisfied when I painted or drawn. Then we had our fall out. My mother had grew very ill when I was 13. She was the only one that actually cared about what I did. She was the only one that understood me. My mother used to do things with me, even against my father's wishes. She taught me how to play the piano, how to ride chocobos, just about everything. Then she was sick. My father didn't do anything to help her. He was always too busy in his work or having affairs with other women. She died after a year since her sickness began." Rufus shook his head with a soft sigh and he closed his eyes. "My heart died that day with her. I guess that was why I was always so cold and distant to everything. I was angry. Angry at everyone. At my father. I was even angry at myself. I couldn't do anything to save her. When I confronted my old man, he didn't show any compassion. That was then I stopped calling him father. I called him Old Man Shinra and because of it, he sent me to the North to continue doing my studies and work that was assigned to me. After my 18th birthday, he came up out of the blue just to announce that I was made Vice President of Shinra Inc." Rufus smirked coldly at the ground and shook his head as he finally looked up at Cloud, who turned to meet his eyes. "Forgive me." was all he said.

Cloud blinked a few times. "For what?" He asked in a low voice.

Rufus shook his head. "For telling you all of this. I know I shouldn't. You don't even care about my life's story. I don't blame you."

Cloud shook his head. "On the contrary, I'm actually interested. You're opening up more and it's helping me understand you. I now know the reason why you are the way you are. I always, like the others, didn't understand why you were like that." He picked up a twig and began to draw in the dirt. "After meeting you in Midgar for the first time, we all could tell that you didn't like your old man. But you were still following in his footsteps, trying to control the Planet. Tifa and I always talked to one another about you during our journey. We always wondered why you were so cold. Now I understand."

Rufus's curves of his mouth turned a little upward. He just shook his head looking up at the sky.

There was a very long silence between them. The night sky only grew darker as it grew late. Cloud finally shook his head. "Let's rest. We have to get up early and continue on our way." Rufus only nodded. They both laid down on their sleeping mats to sleep. It was only a while before they both fell asleep.

The dawn came too soon for them. When the sun rose, both, Cloud and Rufus did not want to really get up. But their bodies protested against them and would not let them go back to sleep. So they had no choice but to get up and eat some breakfast. As they ate, they planned their next moves.

"So where should we go now?" Rufus asked.

Cloud shrugged as he rolled up his sleeping mat. "I think we should just ride on to Junon, where we can get a passage onto Costa Del Sol. Then we'll go on from there."

Rufus nodded. "All right. Sounds good to me." he said. The other blonde only nodded.

They were off once again before 9 a.m., making their way through the Mountain Pass. They rode on in silence, passing by a few monsters that weren't even worth fighting. Within in the hour, they reached the valley. They could see the Chocobo Ranch sitting near the swamp and around it were chocobos grazing in the field. The swamp snakes were slithering around in the Midgar Swamps.

The two blondes paused only for a minute before looking at one another and nodding to each other as they sped on towards the ranch. They needed to get a few more supplies before they continued onto the way.

Within five minutes they had reached the house. The old man in charge of the ranch was out feeding the Chocobos before he looked up to see the two blondes. He smiled as he recognized Cloud. "Ah, Mr. Strife! What a pleasant surprise. Do I have another package or something?"

Cloud shook his head as he removed his glasses. "No. I'm afraid not." He saw the look on the rancher's face when he had seen Rufus. "Don't be alarmed. He's with me. We stopped by to get a few supplies. We're on our way across the swamp." he told the man.

The old rancher slowly nodded before he tore his eyes away from Rufus. "All right. If you insist. I got all mah stuff in the house. Just tell me what you need and I'll get it."

Cloud climbed off of Fenrir, just as Rufus climbed off of Reno's bike. "We just need some more provisions."

The rancher nodded as he motioned for the two to follow him. "Follow'r me." he said. And they did. Unfortunately they had gone into the house too soon before they could see the strange shadows flying high above the ranch.

"That's the last bit, we have, Mr. Strife. We're trying to get another order in but they just don't arrive in time." The Rancher said as he handed Cloud a bag full of potions, antidotes and everything else. Cloud only nodded as he held out a small bag of gil. "That's all right. "It's more than we need." He said. Rufus nodded as he packed the bag he was given into his own.

Just then the three adults heard the chocobos beginning to wark in fear, making them all turn their heads. "Huh, sounds something's spooked the Chocobos. No matter, they'll..." He cut off just as his son, Billy ran in. "Dad! There's monsters attacking the chocobos!"

Immediately all three men dropped everything they had in their hands and raced out. None of them had been ready to see what was attacking the Chocobos.

As soon as they raced out, they saw the most ugliest and terrorfying creatures known to mankind. No words could really describe these monsters. They were bigger than Nibel wolves and they had giant demon like wings spread out on their backs. They were almost reptillian like, yet they were mammals. They had hundreds of sharp looking spines on their backs, running down to their tails. What scared both Cloud and Rufus the most was the nasty fangs hanging out of the monsters's mouths and the black claws on their feet.

"What the hell is that?!" Rufus exclaimed as he immediately grabbed his shotgun from under his coat.

Cloud quickly yanked out his Rune Blade, holding it tightly in his hand. His eyes were wide with horror as he watched one of the monsters just tearing a small chocobo to pieces. "I don't know what they are but I'll tell you what they will be when I'm done with them! Dead!" He then charged at the nearest one and slashed down at it. Rufus nodded as he hurried forward, taking aim at another monster and blasted it.

Across the mountains in Junon, Lex jolted awake when he heard a deafening scream inside and out of his head. He clapped his hands over his ears, giving a cry of alarm as he closed his eyes tight. His entire head felt like it was going to split in two as he heard the scream. He threw his blankets off of him, trying to get out of bed only to fall right off the mattress, hitting the floor with a painful thud.

"Agh!!" He cried out as his head began to pound.

"Lex?!" He heard Mr. Tomoe cry out as the door flung open. He didn't open his eyes to see the old man. He just knelt down on the ground, arching his back a little as he gave a cry of pain.

Inside his mind, he could hear the screaming much better. Someone was angry. He could feel it. He could feel the anger inside of him as if it was apart of him. Lex's head snapped up when he heard someone speaking to him, yet not very nicely. He could see icy blue eyes glaring at him. They were full of hatred and rage.

_'You have failed me!! You worthless failure! You and your brothers! I will make sure you pay for your incompetence!' 'YAZOO!!'_

Lex's eyes snapped open when he felt someone touch his back. It had startled him that he threw out his arms, knocking the person back into his dresser. "Lex! It's okay, my son! It's me!" Mr. Tomoe's voice cried out. Lex had tears of pain running down his cheeks as he weakly looked up.

"Mr. Tomoe..."

The old man looked at him with worry. "Lex, what happened? Are you all right?"

Lex slowly got to his feet as he looked at him. "...they're coming..."

And at that very second, the door was thrown open, making the two jump and turn. It was the young girl, Priscilla. She was looking wild eyed at the two. "Lex! Mr. Tomoe! You have got to come see this!" She cried. Mr. Tomoe and Lex looked at one another before they quickly followed the girl.

Outside, all of the people of Junon were standing outside their homes, looking off towards the Junon shore. Some were looking upward at something. Lex narrowed his eyes a little as he tilted his head up to see what they were looking at. There was some of large birds flying around, high above the city. Only they didn't look like birds. They looked like beasts with wings. There was at least twenty of them. The silver haired young man then lowered his eyes to look at the shore. Something was coming out of the water.

'...they're coming...'

Lex's eyes slowly widened as he felt the world just spin faster under his feet. Or at least that was what it felt like. His heart seemed to scream as he saw what was coming out of the water. He knew what they were. He had seen them before. "RUN!" He suddenly yelled.

Every head turned to look at him, a few women screaming when he did. Lex jerked around. "They're Jenova's monsters! Run!" He yelled. Mr. Tomoe knew that something was wrong. That was why he was immediately listening to the young man. That, and because he saw the large birds above the city starting to swoop down.

Hell broke loose within ten seconds.

The winged monsters had finally came down and were now attacking. They were exactly like the ones at the Chocobo Ranch. And they were blood thirsty. Screams began to break out through the entire town and everyone was running from here to there.

Lex immediately rushed forward, along with some of the other men, to fight off the monsters. Most of the men had grabbed their weapons and some didn't even have any so they grabbed the nearest thing to them. Lex on the other hand, had nothing. He wasn't sure how he was going to fight the monsters off. That is until...

"Lex! Catch!" He heard one of the men yell.

He could almost sense the weapon flying towards him. Without any effort at all, he spun in a circle and caught whatever it was. No one had even seen him move. Some of the men that had been watching were just stunned. Lex being one of them. His eyes were a little wide as he looked down at the weapon in his hand.

It was a Gunblade.

A strange memory flashed in his mind. His eyes grew wide as he recalled the memory rather quickly. He had remembered that he once had a gunblade before. He was very skilled with one. Everything seemed to flood right back into his mind. He remembered everything.

"Lex! Watch out!"

He blinked back into reality as he saw one of the monsters flying at him, slashing its claws towards him. Lex's eyes flashed darkly before he spun a half circle slashing at the creature from behind. The monster let out a scream of pain before it said nothing ever again once Lex spun back around and brought the Gunblade down right through its neck. One down, nineteen to go.

Junon wasn't the only one that was under attack by strange monsters like that. On Mideel, no one even saw them coming. Kale was out chopping wood with Tilar and Cougar. The three of them had gotten up a little earlier than usual and started on their work. Kale was trying not to blow up on Tilar. The older man had started his bullying again. But as he was about to make another swing with his axe to the tree trunk, he stopped.

Something was happening. He could feel something coming. Kale lowered his axe as he slowly turned around and looked towards the sky. He could hear a whisper on the wind.

_'...Kadaj...'_

"Kale, you little worm! Get back to work! We need to have fifty logs chopped today!" He heard Tilar say. He only ignored him as he looked up in the sky. "Kale! Get back to work!" Tilar yelled at him as he straightened.

"Tilar, leave him alone for Hyne's sake!" Cougar told him as he picked up a large log and put it on the cart.

Tilar ignored him as he dropped his axe and stomped over to the young man, grabbing his shoulder. "Don't ignore me, brat!" He yelled as he forced him to turn around.

Kale allowed him to turn him around before shoving him off. His eyes were wide. "They're coming!"

The two hard working men looked at him in surprise and confusion. That is, until the ground began to shake.

"What the?!" They both exclaimed.

Kale dropped his axe and ran for the village. His heart was racing as he just ran. Tilar and Cougar just stood there for a long time before they saw something explode in the village. Then they ran after Kale.

The three men ran as fast as they could to get to the village. Kale suddenly stopped as he grabbed his head and fell to his knees.

"Kale!" Cougar yelled as he skid to a stop by the young man's side. He dropped down to one knee beside him. "Kale! What's wrong?!" He cried out.

The young silver haired man just clutched his head as intensive pain just racked inside his mind.

_'Kadaj! You have failed me! You have failed to fullfill your mission! You and your brothers will pay!'_

Kale's eyes snapped open as he sensed something coming at him. He looked up to see a very large worm charging down towards him and the two men. He reacted very quickly but placing his hands on the ground and flipping backwards to his feet, while shoving both Tilar and Cougar hard away from him. The strength he had put in pushing them sent the two men flying backwards into trees.

The worm slammed into the ground right where the three had been. Kale's eyes were blazing with fury. He had landed gracefully onto his feet, standing in a fighting stance. The large worm lift its head and let out a screech of rage. It whipped out a long tongue at Kale, who jumped back, knocking the tongue away.

However, it only wrapped around his wrist. He gasped as he felt it began to pull him towards it.

Suddenly the blade of axe just sliced through the tongue. It had been Cougar who attacked it. "Get away from him!" He yelled as he stood in between Kale and the monster.

Kale's eyes closed as he felt a slight migrane growing inside his head. After a second, his eyes flashed open and he glared towards the worm. He remembered.

_'...Loz...' _

His eyes snapped open when heard the name. He had heard it on the wind.

"Jeri!" He then heard a young voice.

The tall man turned his head to see a young girl running towards him. It was only Laura, the inn keeper's younger sister.

The man that she was running to was a very tall and powerfully built man. He was at least in his early thirties. He was a little hansome, not the best looking man in Gongonga but he did have a few of the ladies' attention. It was because he was so strong looking and he did have large muscles. His hair was silver blonde and cut short. The man was built for strength and not speed. He had a pale complexion but it was slowly reducing to a tan color.

He had been working for the town of Gongonga, helping the people clean up the mess of the old Mako Reactor. They were going to use all of the scrap metal to help build the village bigger and better. And with Jeri, the silver haired lug, they were doing a pretty good job. For he was one strong man.

How Jeri had come across Gongonga was even confusing for him. He didn't remember who he was and how he came to this place. The only thing that he did remember was he woke up in the river near the town, completely naked. It was quite embarrassing for him when he walked right through the bushes, right into the town square. He was pretty sure he had turned completely red from head to his toes when every single head in the town turned and saw him.

However they were kind enough to help him. They gave him cloths and a roof over his head. In fact, he was staying with an elderly couple who had lost their son many years before. They treated him like he was their own. And because of that, he loved them.

"Jeri! Help!" Laura cried out as she ran towards him.

Jeri's eyes lit up a little as he stood quickly, bracing for whatever was chasing the young girl before relaxing as a big smile spread out on his face. Laura was only being chased by his massive bloodhound, Bear. It was more than likely that his dog was just trying to lick her face again.

With a laugh, Jeri shook his head as he walked towards them, his meaty fists on his waist. Laura quickly hid behind him as the dog bounded after her.

"Bear! Sit!" He barked.

The bloodhound immediately stopped in its tracks and sat on its hind legs. Bear only whined, probably thinking he was in trouble. Jeri laughed as he walked forward and patted the dog's head. "Good dog." He turned his strange cat like blue eyes onto Laura, who giggled as she reached out for him.

The large man bent down and lift her up into his arms. "Good morning, Laura. What'chu doing up so early?" He asked, his strong monotone voice thick. The little six year old girl just giggled. "I wanted to come see yoo."

Jeri smiled at the little girl. "I'm glad for that. You want to play a game?"

Laura nodded with a bright smile. "Hide-N-Seek!" She said merrily.

Jeri grinned. "Okay!" He set down and covered his eyes with his big hands. "Go hide. But don't go too far." He told her then began to count to fifty. The little girl raced off giggling as ever Jeri peeked through his fingers for a quick second before closing them again. That was then Bear began to growl. Jeri ignored him as he continued to count. He was getting to 30 when he heard a whisper.

_'...Loz...'_

He stopped and looked around. There wasn't anyone around. So he continued to count.

_'You failed me...you will die...'_

"AHHHHH!!!

Jeri's hand dropped when he heard Laura screaming. The dog beside him snarled as he stood up.

"Jeri! Help!"

The large silver haired man bounded in the direction the screaming was coming from. He spotted Laura running towards him with a monster right behind her, snarling at her heels. It was one ugly creature. It was like a giant wolf with a very messed up face.

Jeri watched in horror as the beast swiped at Laura's ankles, making her scream in pain and fall to the ground. That was then Jeri made his move. He rushed forward as fast as he could.

The monster snarled as it began leap onto Laura, however it never reached her. For Jeri's strong fist slammed right into its jaw, sending it flying ten feet up into the air and falling back down hard. Jeri quickly snatched Laura up and turned to run but stopped again. There were more of them. They were snarling at the two, encircling them to trap them. Jeri's eyes narrowed dangerously as he wrapped his arms around Laura, pulling her closer. His dog was snarling at the monsters coming closer.

"Don't be scared, Laura. I'm here. I won't let them hurt you." He whispered to the whimpering girl.

Suddenly one of the monsters lunged. Jeri quickly jumped back to avoid the monster. Bear intercepted the attack. The dog and the monster were practically locked into a deadly battle just as the others began to charge. Jeri held Laura closer as he jerked to the side then planted his boot right into one of the monster's jaw making it yipe. The silver haired man began to fight the monsters with only his feet and was doing a very good job.

As he fought the monsters, something was flashing through his mind. He was remembering something strange. He was recalling fighting moves he never knew he had. He was starting to remember his true identity.

Far from everything and everyone else, something was happening. A woman was waking up from a deep slumber. Her milky white skin glistened in the faint eerie blue light while her black hair fell around her face. She was sitting on what looked like a throne. As she sat there, someone entered the room.

"My lady, the manticores have gone out. As did the Neothelids and the Nibel wolves. Your plans are in set."

The woman's eyes slowly opened, revealing her icy blue eyes. She looked at the man standing in the shadows. She just stared off. "Not yet they're not. We still have a few obstacles in our path." She said in a very quiet and dark way. The man only continued to stand still. "What is it?" He asked. The blue eyed woman turned her face away. "...she is searching...for answers." She whispered as her eyes narrowed. "Send out some of the men. Tell them to search for the doctor. He is a problem in our plan."

The man just tilted his head. "Very well, my lady. When they find him, what shall you have them do with him?" He asked. The woman turned her cool eyes back onto the man in the shadows. "Kill Dr. Ryuu."

**Author's note: Okay, so how was that? You like that? You all probably have an idea who the unsually men with silver hair are. I'll explain in the next chapter about what they're doing there, kay?**

**In the mean time, if you all don't mind and if you have time, I have another story that I've been working on, A Shinra Love. I've been working on it at the same time as this story but I haven't gotten any reviewers, so I'm not sure if anyone is reading it. So if you all would, check it out and tell me what you think. I promise you, it's a really good story. Might have a dorky name but it's a real good story. So please check it out. Thanx. Read and review. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter V:**

The creatures had either been defeated or they ran away. It was strange how they just turned around and ran. They didn't seem the kind of monsters that would just turn around and run. They were more like the kind that would stay and fight to the death. But for some reason, they just ran.  
Cloud was confused as well as Rufus Shinra. They had killed at least three but it was very difficult. The two of them had sustained a few injuries that would need immediate attention. What was even worst was that all of the Chocobos had been killed. Not one had lived in the stables or the corral. The monstrosity of beasts had ripped them all to pieces. And what was even worst was the little girl Chloe had received a nasty slash down the front.

None of the men were sure if she was even going to survive. It was lucky enough that she wasn't ripped to pieces like the chocobos had. The rancher was in a very bad state. He had to send Billy into the other room while Cloud set the girl on the bed.

Rufus was mopping himself up from the vicious battles. His blue eyes were on the girl, full of concern. "Is she going to be all right?" He asked after a moment.

Cloud was looking the girl over before he turned towards the Ex-President. He shook his head. "Not without our help she won't be. We're going to have to clean her up. I think she's been poisoned." He heard the rancher sob weakly. He turned his eyes onto him. "Don't worry. She'll be all right once we've finished. Just get some water so we can clean her up." He told him. The rancher rushed to do what he was told.

Rufus just sat there before standing up and removing his jacket. "What can I do to help?"

Cloud looked up at him for a long time then he nodded to the bags. "Get some of the antidotes. We'll see if they'll work."

Rufus nodded as he quickly did so. He got into the bags and pulled out a few bottles of antidotes. The Rancher had returned with the water. Immediately Cloud began to clean up the girl's wound. He nodded to Rufus. "Get her to drink that antidote while I'm healing her." He told him.

Rufus nodded and he went over to the girl. He gently lift her head up a little to make her look at him. "Come on, girl. Drink this. It'll help." He told her. The young girl, Chloe, whimpered a little from the pain but she let him spill the liquid into her mouth.

Rufus looked down at her with a painful look. He wasn't exactly a man who would express himself in front of anyone. But seeing the girl hurt like this, he couldn't keep himself from frowning with worry.

Finally, Cloud stepped back, wiping his sweaty brow. "She's not going to be feeling very well for a few days. She might get a bad case of the fever within a few hours. We'll have to do what we can for her. She has to heal herself now by resting." He said. Rufus nodded as he went over and pulled on his jacket. The rancher was looking at his daughter with frightened tears in his eyes. One of his hands was covering his mouth to keep himself from sobbing loudly. He looked at Cloud with worry. "Will my little girl be okay? Will she live?"

The blonde was quiet for a second as he glanced over at the half conscious girl then back at the rancher. He slowly nodded. "She'll be fine."

Rufus, however, could see that he was lying. There was that tone in his voice that he had heard before. He remembered that from experience when his mother had died. He remembered how the doctors had told him that she would just be fine when in fact that she wouldn't be. The Ex-President of Shinra had to turn away to hide the look in his eyes before the rancher or his daughter could see. But he was pretty sure that it was too late.

The rancher gave a choke as he forced himself to nod. "Than-thank you for your hel-help, Mr. Strife, Mr. Shinra. I know you've tr-tried your best." He sobbed as he went over and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Ch-Chloe." He whispered in a painful tone.

The little girl looked at him looking extremely tired. "Papa?"

The rancher sniffed a little bit as he held her hand. "You...you get some rest. Close your eyes and let your dreams come. When you wake up, you will be in the most beautiful place. Full of children to play with." He told her.

Chloe smiled up at him as she closed her eyes and drifted off. "Okay, Papa. I hope I will see you there too."

The rancher wiped his tears away, forcing a pained smile. "You will, my love. You will."

As soon as Chloe was asleep, the three grown men left the room to talk about the change in plans. "What are we going to do now? We can't just leave them like this?" Rufus said as he followed Cloud and the rancher.

The rancher just shook his head. "No. No, you shouldn't stay just because of our little problem. If you are anxious to get to Junon, you should..." He was saying.

Cloud shook his head. "Our task may be important but right now, caring for that girl of yours is even more important. We have to make her as comfortable as possible. Like I've said. It's only up to her to heal herself."

The rancher sighed as a touched look appeared on his face. "Thank you, Mr. Strife. I really appreaciate this." Cloud nodded and they sat down together to discuss further plans.

All three very unaware that the room they had just left now had two occupants. As soon as they had left the room, closing the door on the way out, someone had stepped out of the growing shadows. Someone wearing all black with very long silver hair and one black wing had just appeared out of nowhere. And on his handsome, yet creepy face, he wore a sly smile.

Far from there, in the town of Kalm, Angel was standing in the back of the bakery, waiting for the next batch of sugar rolls to get done when she felt a strange feeling coming over her. She frowned as she turned away from the baker and looked towards the ceiling. She was quiet for a very long minute before she slowly shook her head. "It's beginning, isn't it?" She whispered as if someone could hear her. She brushed her long bangs out of her pretty green eyes before she looked at the baker. "Mr. Spade, are those rolls done yet?" She asked over the counter.

The baker poked his head out from behind the large oven and gave her a smile. "Angel, dear, why are you so impatient today?"

Angel just shook her head as she put the basket onto the counter. "Because I need to know how long I have before they're done. Just so I can be back in time."

The baker now frowned in confusion. "Be back? Where are you going?"

Angel just shook her head as she turned away from him. "I need to go out into the field for a while. I should be back within thirty minutes."

The baker only looked even more confused. "Why are you going out into the field?" He asked. Angel just shook her head. "Trust me. You're better off not knowing." She told him. The baker nodded very slowly. He tilted his head a little. "Angel, if there's monsters you're going after, please be careful. The whole town would just be devastated if you got hurt."

Angel only smiled at him gently. "Don't worry too much about me. The Lifestream wouldn't let that happen. I promise. Just promise me that you'll lock up the shop until the danger is gone."

The baker only smiled at her as he nodded. "All right, hon. Just be careful." He said. Angel nodded. "I will." The baker only nodded and watched her leave the shop.

Angel made her way towards the town's entrance. She saw a few children starting towards her, smiling brightly. It was obvious they wanted to see if she would play with them. They all frowned when their heroine held up her hand towards them. "Children, not today. You need to go into your homes right now. There's trouble coming this way." She called to them.

The children stopped from approaching her. "Angel, What's wrong? What's happening?" The oldest of them asked.

Angel only shook her head as she held up her hand as if holding something. "Just go home, children. Have your parents lock all of the doors and windows. Just trust me." The children all looked around at one another before they hurried away. Angel only nodded as she continued onto her way towards the entrance, light surrounding her as she went.

As the light grew brighter around her, there was a rumbling noise making everyone in the town look around in surprise. In her hand, the light only grew brighter, forming something very thick and long. When she reached the very foot of the boundaries of the town, a staff had appeared in her hand. Some people, who had been watching her, looking extremely surprised. They had never seen Angel ever have a weapon before. The pretty brunnette held the staff tightly with both hands as she stepped away from the town and looked towards the field, where she could see figures approaching very quickly. She glanced over her shoulder at some people who were coming closer. She didn't want them there but she knew she had no time to tell them to go back home. The creatures coming towards the town was quickly approaching.

Angel shook her head before she threw out her hand towards the creatures coming. Bright light formed at her hands, forming a large clear wall right in front of her and starting to spread out high into the sky.

The monsters coming halted immediately. There were over fifty of them. They were large robots. All of them were bigger than Angel, and definitely menacing looking. Most of them had glowing red eyes but one in particular had icy blue eyes. They all stood in front of Angel, looking at her in a threatening way. The blue one finally stepped closer and pointed its arm. It fired rounds of bullets at Angel, making everyone behind her scream with worry and fear. But she just stood there looking very brave. She never flinched once as the bullets ricocheted right off the shield she had just created between her and the monsters.

Angrily, the blue robot moved closer and continued to fire but the result was still the same. So it pointed towards her and made a metallic screech. Immediately the red robots began flying towards the two at a break neck speed. The townspeople were now screaming in fear as they turned to run.

Angel's eyes flashed as immediately snapped into a fighting stance, jabbing her staff towards the on coming monsters.

There then came a loud noise from all around the town and the monsters. The ground started to shake and crack from under everyone's feet. The ocean near the bay was now churning as if something was coming out from within the water. The robots once again stopped and turned their sharp faces towards the water. They could sense something coming.

Angel continued to stand still as her eyes started to glow. The wind around her was whipping her hair and cloths around from the intensity and speed. It was almost roaring with anger.

"Leave Kalm now! The Lifestream demands it!" Angel then yelled at the robots.

The blue robot turned back towards her, looking quite angry. It pointed at her and seemed to speak in whirls, beeps and clicks.

The language of the robots completely confused the people of Kalm. But Angel looked like she understood. She only shook her head. "I will not stand aside and let you demolish this town under anyone's orders! Who has sent you and why?!" She demanded.

The blue robot made more whirls and beeps but Angel understood everything it had said.

**(The mistress of the Planet! This town has been in her plan's way for many years now! She wishes for it to be destroyed!)**

Angel shook her head again. "I don't care what she wishes! The Lifestream wishes for you to stay away. What it wishes, it gets!" She called to the robot. The robot made a threatening jab towards her with its metallic finger.

**(Our Mistress is above the Lifestream! She is more powerful than all! Even you! You may be of the Ancients but she is the Queen! She will be the ruler of all! Even of the pathetic race you try to protect! She with her mate will destroy this entire Planet if she must! Now stand aside!)**

The Pink Angel's eyes flashed white now as she looked at the robots dangerously. "If you want by me, come forth! But if you wish to stand together and not in pieces, leave now!" She hissed in a very threatening way.

It almost made the children watching shudder. They watched her walk forward out of her shield's protection. The robots hissed as they began to charge.

Angel ignored the cries of the townspeople, screaming her name in fear. She just stood ready until the robots approached. And that was when the real battle began.

As the robots began their attacks, she moved extremely quickly. She dodged right through the reign of bullets flying at her and weaved in and out of swinging metallic claws coming at her. Her staff began to spin between her fingers as if it was attached to her like a machine. The ends began to hit the robots, knocking them this way and that. Angel leaped into the air, above one robot and brought her staff down hard, right through the machine's head. She was smashing every single one of them, bits to bits. She ignored the pain as one managed to slash her back with its sharp fingers. All she did was blast it right in the face with a Fire3 spell. Then she jumped away as the robots all began to gang up on her position. She landed ten feet away from where she originally had been.

With no hesitation at all, she jerked the upper part of her body around, her feet spread out apart as she threw her hand out towards the large group of robots, yelling the very last word that some would hear. "HOLY!!"

Brilliant, bright light exploded from her hand, screaming across the field to where the metallic monsters where. As soon as the light spell hit the robots, there was a very large explosion. Clouds of smoke, dust and fire shot up into the sky as metal arms and legs went flying, bouncing off the energy shield protecting the town. And it did not go un-noticed by others.

In fact, the small fractions of Midgar had seen the explosion from a distance. Reno and Rude had been talking to Tifa outside The 7th Heaven when they heard the distant boom. All three turned around and looked off towards the field with wide eyes.

"What in the hell?!" The red head Turk exclaimed.

The three just stood there looking at the smoke rising into the sky. "Oh my god. I hope no one was hurt." Tifa said. Rude slowly shook his head. "There's no doubt that someone was. Not with an explosion that big."

Reno nodded as he scratched the back of his neck. "No argument there. That's bigger than yesterday's explosion. You don't think..." He paused while Rude and Tifa looked at him.

"That Cloud and Rufus was in that? God, I hope not." Tifa said looking even more worried.

There was a long silence between them all before Reno shook his head. "Someone's got to go out there with a group to see what happened. The town might need help."

Tifa nodded as she looked at him. "You're right. You two go ahead. I'll be fine here by myself. The children are mostly at school right now. Except Marlene and Denzel. They wanted to stay home today."

Reno nodded as he gave her a look over. "You sure you want us to head? I think it'd be a better idea if one of us just went and one helped you out."

Tifa only shook her head. "I'll be fine, Reno. Besides, it'll only take an hour to go out there and one hour to come back. I'll be just fine for three or four hours without you two. It's just Marlene and Denzel that I have to watch."

Rude nodded. "All right. We'll gather some people and head out there. You just be careful, all right, Lockhart? If you need anything, call us immediately and we'll turn around and come right back." He told her.

Tifa nodded with agreement. "All right. I will do that. You two be careful, yourselves." She watched the two hurry to a truck and started out.

High above the building, looking down at the young woman, the shadowy man, Drake, smirked coldly as he saw that she was alone. The plan was going exactly the way that his employer had planned it.

The smoke was still everywhere but was slowly being blown away. The town of Kalm just stood stalk still with fear in their eyes. They wondered what had become of Angel. They all prayed that she was all right. Everyone just watched with horror as the dust and smoke slowly dissipated. They could see a figure standing in the smoke but they couldn't really tell whom it was.

Finally they could see that it was Angel. She was just standing there, still standing in the position she had been in before she threw the spell and glaring towards the remaining robots. Most of the robots had been destroyed but there was still a fair few.

The blue robot was still standing in the very spot it had been. It finally pointed at Angel and made a few simple beeps.

**(Destroy the Ancient!)**

The other red robots began to charge, all flashing their weapons. Angel only turned and stood ready.

Suddenly gunshots exploded in the air making several people jump. Bullets began to hit the robots over and over. Angel jerked around to see who was shooting at the robots from behind her. To her slight surprise, there was two people rushing towards the robots. Both of them were people that she had not seen for a very long time.

Tseng and Elena.

The two Turks didn't even look at her as they joined her sides, their guns out and ready. "Are you all right?!" The black haired leader yelled over the exploding gunshots.

Angel nodded as she stood ready as the robots approached. "I'll be fine! I could have taken care of them myself but I do appreciate your help, Tseng!"

That really got Tseng's attention. He turned his dark eyes onto the brunnette before his jaw fell. He stopped shooting and just stared at her. Even Elena looked shocked to see her. "Oh my god." She whispered as she looked Angel over. Tseng backed away from the pink angel and shook his head. "You...b-but...I was told..." He looked at Elena with shock, who looked back. They both then looked at Angel. "I was told that you were dead! Sephiroth! He...he killed you!"

Angel only smiled sweetly at him. "I was dead, Tseng. But I was granted a second life. The Lifestream has big plans for me. I see that you remember me after all these years."

Tseng slowly shook his head. "How could I forget you, Aeris? After all the years I've chased after you for Shinra. How could I forget?"

Angel only smiled before they jerked around to see the robots quickly approaching. And a very dangerous pace. All three had only three seconds to put up their weapons before impact. It was Forty robots against three. What would be the odds of winning?

Back at The 7th Heaven, Tifa was washing dishes while listening to Marlene singing a song she remembered hearing once. She only smiled as she continued her chores. She glanced over her shoulder at the two 11 years olds who were drawing pictures. Denzel was looking at Marlene with a bright smile as he put the finishing touches to what he was drawing. Marlene just kept on drawing, not looking up at him at all. It was only then did the door open did she look up.

In fact all three of them looked over at the door. And all of them froze when they saw the man standing there.

He was a very tall man with broad shoulders. His face was half hidden under a very dark brown hooded cloak but the bottom half the three could see. He had a small, thin goatee on the end of his chin. His dark hair hung loose from under the hood. He was wearing what looked like black clothing from under the dark brown cloak. The man was definitely built like a fighter. Tifa could see a little bit of red cloth around his waist, under what looked like multiple of belts. She could hardly see what he was wearing under the cloak but she did see the handles of swords. So he was no doubt armed and that made her just a little tense. She couldn't see his eyes either. They were hidden deep inside the hood. But she was pretty sure she saw a flash of glowing green.

Tifa glanced over when she heard Marlene whimper in fear. She could see how scared the girl was of this man. She figured that she had better find out what this man wanted to get rid of him quickly so Marlene wouldn't be afraid. She almost smiled when she watched Denzel slid closer to his best friend, looking almost protective over her. She looked back at the man, who seemed to be glancing around the room for something.

"Excuse me. But can I help you?" Tifa asked as she moved closer to the man.

The man turned in her direction, his top part of his face still hidden. "I came for a package." He said in a very cold tone. Tifa blinked in surprise. It was the man from the day before yesterday's phone call. She had recognized his voice. It almost made her shudder to think that he was there. "Has my package been picked up or not?" His cold voice broke her out of her thoughts.

She shook her head to rid her of the thoughts and to say no. "You're the man from the day before. You called us, right?"

The man's head bobbed into a nod. "Aye. I did. I take it that you don't have it."

Tifa shook her head as she stepped back a little. She didn't want to be very close to this man. He didn't seem the friendly type. And he could as well had been the man who was trying to kill her. "I'm sorry, sir. We sent someone to get it. But it ended up being a bomb." Her eyes then hardened. "That is against our policies, sir. We don't deal with bombs. Did you know what it was?" She asked rather seriously, putting up her guard. Marlene and Denzel immediately saw that Tifa was getting ready to fight if necessary. They quickly slid of their stools and under the table, watching from there.

The man was motionless. It was like he wasn't afraid at all. And he probably wasn't. He didn't seem the type to be afraid of anything. Instead, he gave a low curse.  
"Damn, bastards."  
He then reached up and lowered his hood. Tifa and the two children finally got to see what he looked like. He was extremely handsome for a dark warrior. He had dark eyebrows over his strange glowing green eyes. Tifa immediately recognized the Mako in his eyes. So he must have been associated with Shinra at one time.  
The only question that she had to ask herself was, did he like to work for Shinra Inc.?  
The man's eyes looked straight into Tifa's, a little softer than his voice had been before. He looked a little friendlier with his hood down. His black hair was slightly long, cutting short to his neck line. There was something oddly familiar about him as well. She didn't know what it was but she had a feeling that she had met this man before.

"Ma-am, I must apologize for the endangerment I have put you and your people under. I should have been expecting that kind of thing from the people who was trying to do me over." The man shook his head. "I should have known that it was a bomb."

Tifa blinked several times as realization kicked in. She could have slapped herself for this type embarrassment. So the bomb hadn't been for her or Cloud at all! It was for this man! Someone was trying to kill him. Not her or Cloud! She felt extremely stupid now. She even groaned in disgust as she slapped her face with her hand. "Ugh! Stupid, Lockhart. How can you be any dumber!" She muttered to herself.

The man, however, heard. He rose a pencil thin eyebrow as he looked at her. "Excuse me?"

Tifa dropped her hand giving him an apologetic look. "I am so sorry, sir. You see, my associates and I thought that...well, that you sent the bomb and had us pick it up to kill us." She blushed when she realized that what she just said had been very stupid indeed. She shook her head. "I thought that the bomb was meant for me or Cloud Strife."

The man only smirked as he dipped his head a little. "Cloud Strife, hm? That's a name I haven't heard for a while. Is he here?"

Tifa blinked several times before shaking her head. "No. He left for a few days on an errand. I'm not sure when he'll be back." She then looked at him with confusion. "Did you know Cloud?"

The man slowly nodded once. "I did. A very long time ago. You could say..." he paused now slowly walking towards her, in a stalking way. She didn't think anything of it though. She thought it was just his nature to walk like that. "We're old comrades. I also knew that son of a bitch, Sephiroth, as well."

Tifa winced a little as she made a glance towards Marlene and Denzel. "Please, sir. Don't swear in front of the children."

The man glanced side wards at the two before a smirk touched his lips. He then looked back at Tifa. "It's been a long time since I seen you too, Miss Lockhart." He said in a quiet tone.

Tifa blinked several times as she tilted her head. "Do I know you? You seem oddly familiar."

The man smirked at her. "Not exactly. You wouldn't remember me because no one did ever remember me. Not even that chocobo boy, Strife. After all the years we spent training for SOLDIER and not getting picked by that asshole, Sephiroth." he gave a sharp laugh. "So I don't expect you to remember me either. You never did hear my name." He laid a hand on his sword.

Tifa stiffened. She wasn't liking this at all. She glanced at the frightened looks on the children's faces before she looked back at the man. "Sir, your package isn't here. It nearly killed a friend of mine by blowing up a whole building. So you have no more business here. So I'll be so kind to asking you to leave. You're frightening my kids."

The man glanced over at the girl and boy before looking back at the martial artist. "Oh, but I do have business here. I've come for a small package. Not just the bomb, that you were right about. I did send it. And it was meant for Strife. I will admit that."

The world had pretty much sped up for Tifa. She felt her insides turn to ice as she just looked at him. Something told her that there was danger coming. She had to get this man to leave. Her eyes hardened onto the man's. "Get out of my house right now. I will not tolerate you scaring the children." She said in a serious tone.

The man only smirked coldly, before nodding towards Marlene. "The little girl has every right to be scared, tour guide. She is, after all, the chosen of my employer's plan. She will be coming with me."

That very second, Tifa rushed over to stand between the man and the children, who were looking even more frightened. "Get out of my house now! If you don't leave, I will make you!" She snapped as she stood in a fighting stance.

The man only smirked coldly as he crossed his arms, laying them onto the handles of his swords. He pulled them both out at once, spinning them in his hands. Tifa's eyes grew wide as she looked at them. They were no doubt extremely sharp and very lethal. She could almost feel a cold shudder running up her back. "Now then. Either step aside and let me take the girl peacefully. Or you can die sooner than I had planned, tour guide. Which will it be?" The man asked coldly.

Tifa's eyes only flashed. "You will not touch Marlene or Denzel! Not while I live!" She said just as coldly.

The swordsman only smiled evilly. "Somehow I hoped you would say that." He then charged.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI:**

He looked at the damage the creatures had caused from the battles. His eyes were full of pain as he saw how many people were lying dead on the sandy beaches or the blood stained grass. All of the people that had cared for him, the people he admired, they were all dead. At least half of them were. But it was still extremely painful to see that half of the city's population, even the people in the upper city, were gone. Their lives had been ripped away from the Planet by the evilness in the world. The day that his best friend and guardian had been killed. He would remember it as the Day of the Junon Harbor Massacre.

Lex looked around, pain written all over his face as he stepped over the bodies of monsters he had slayed. He could see the other men, at least those who survived the cruel battles, walking around or falling to their knees because someone they loved had died. Tears filled the silver haired fighter's eyes as he looked at the bloody masses upon the ground.

People had died just because someone had wanted him dead. But who could have done this? Who could have sent those evil creatures after him? There was another question he had to ask. Was his brothers still alive?

Lex jerked out of his thoughts when he heard someone call out his name. He turned around and saw an injured Priscilla rushing towards him.  
"Lex! Lex! Come quick! It's Mr. Tomoe!" She cried out.

His heart nearly gave out right there. He knew something had gone wrong. He felt his feet work faster than his mind. He was racing after the hurt young girl towards the edge of Junon. But he wasn't ready for what he was about to see.

The two of them came to a stop where there was a few people standing over the one man that Lex had loved the most. And Mr. Tomoe was not in a very great shape. He was lying in the blood stained grass, covered in his own blood. He was practically ripped to shreds. His legs were mangled and torn to bits as well as his arms. He had a gash in the side of his face and blood was just spilling out of the wound. But no matter how life threatening those wounds were, they were nothing compared to the ones in his torsoe and stomache. His innards were practially showing. It was a very gory sight for Lex.

The young silver haired man felt tears stinging his eyes as he dropped down beside Mr. Tomoe, clutching the weapon in his hand. "No! Mr. Tomoe!" He cried out as he looked at the old man.

The weak, dying old man looked up at him, with a very painful smile. "Lex...don't wee-weep for me. I..." He coughed a few times, blood spilling from his course lips. Lex looked extremely sad seeing that he coughing up blood. "...I...I am an old man. What is it that I tell you all the time...all the time about death?" Mr. Tomoe asked.

Lex had tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked at him. "Please, Mr. Tomoe. You must rest. We'll get you some help. We can save you if you rest."

"Lex...I told you. I am not afraid to die...tell me why that is..." He asked before coughing again.

Lex let his tears just run down his pale cheeks. He slowly shook his head. "Death is only the ending of an adventure and the beginning of a new one. But I don't want you to die, Mr. Tomoe! You're like a father to me!" He cried before wiping his tears away. "I don't want to lose you."

Mr. Tomoe smiled weakly as he reached up and touched the side of the young man's face. "L-Lex...you can never stop death and you could never lose me. I will...will always be with you...no...no matter what." His body gave a jerk as he started to convulse. His eyes closed for a second before he reopened them. He smiled up towards the sky. "Lex, I can see the Promised Land now. It's beautiful, Lex."

Lex lowered his head. He knew that it was too late. But there was one thing that he wanted to tell the kind old man before he really did leave. He knew he had to make it quick because he could see the light in the man's eyes starting to leave. "Mr. Tomoe, I want to tell you my real name. It's Yazoo. And I'm not a good man. I was bad. I killed a lot of people because I thought I was better than everyone else." He closed his eyes, looking saddened. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He reopened his eyes when he felt a hand touch his chin. He looked at the dying old man.

"Lex, you have never been bad. Killing people is wrong, yes. But to be reborn like you had been, you were given a second chance to redeem yourself. And you are already doing that." The old man whispered, smiling at him like a father would to a son. "...you're going to do great things, my son. You were meant for great things..." He then smiled even brighter. "...Yazoo...such a nice name...Yazoo..." He then closed his eyes and was gone.

The silver haired man lowered his head, his heart pretty much breaking. He had lost the one man that cared more about him than he cared about himself. And what was worst, he knew who he was. He knew of how he was born, was created. He knew that he was the middle brother of three Sephiroth clones. Three evil creatures who had tried to destroy what was good. But then the words that Mr. Tomoe had said came back to him.  
He lift his head, looking up at the blue sky with tears in his eyes. He had been reborn. Reborn to have a second chance. But how? How had he come back? And the major question, why had he come back?

He remembered that voice now. The woman who had spoke to him before the monsters had attacked. She was evil. He knew that. She had sent the monsters after him. The monsters that had destroyed his new home, his new life, his new father. And now, it was time for her to pay. She had committed the worst sin known to mankind. Killed an innocent old man.

"Lex, will you be okay?" He heard a voice from behind him.

He slowly shook his head as he bent over Mr. Tomoe's body and rest his forehead onto the dead man's forehead. He closed his eyes and was quiet for a very long time. "Goodbye, father. May you live in the Promised Land, harmonously or live your new life with greatness and prosperty. Your death will be avenged." He whispered before he forced himself to his feet. He turned his eerie yellow-green eyes onto the people of Junon.  
"When you bury this man, these words shall be placed upon his tombstone. Rodrick Tomoe, a man of greatness, loving and caring. He, who understood what life really means to others." His voice cracked with pain as he let his tears just run down his fair cheeks, matting silver strands to his face. "Forever rest in peace, Tomoe. For you have been a great teacher, guardian and most of all, an excellent father to a lost man." He lowered his head and closed his eyes. He was quiet for a minute as he felt the wind blowing around him. He reopened his eyes, narrowing them towards no one in particular. "  
My name is Yazoo. I remember who I am now. I have been reborn from a life of cruelty, hatred, fear, sorrow and every thing else that is bad." He slowly looked around at the others. "This is the first time I've spoken so many words to others. And it may be the last. But I swear to you now, People of Junon. Justice will be served upon the person who is responcible for this." He looked towards the ocean, darkness in his eyes. "I will make sure of that." He promised.

By hours on, he was ready to leave Junon. Clothed in black leather, almost exactly what he had worn in his previous life, and a gunblade hanging at his side. He left with no words. What he had spoken before, was the last words the People of Junon would hear for a long time. He was beginning his journey now. The journey to find his brothers. The quest to find Mr. Tomoe's killer. To end the evil that was threatening the Planet he had threatened once before and now sworn to protect it. His journey was only beginning.

* * *

Cloud and Rufus sat with the rancher, looking off with worry in their eyes. They knew it was only a matter of time before the young girl would pass on, go to the Promised land or be reborn into another person, another life force. That is if she didn't heal herself.

The rancher was still sobbing in his hands. His son was sitting on his lap, looking distressed. He knew that his sister was dying. Yet he couldn't find himself to cry. He just had a feeling that things were going to be all right. If only he knew.

"We'll leave within the hour. We must carry on across the Midgar Swamp." Cloud finally spoke up.

Rufus tilted his head towards him but didn't look up. He only looked pained to think that the little girl was dying in the next room. He had never seen a girl so young die before. This was too tragic for him. He couldn't stand it. He just couldn't wait till they were on their way again. So he could get his mind off of the death of the girl.

But it only surprised them terribly as the door opened and the little girl stepped out of the room. All three men and the boy looked shocked to see her standing up by herself now.

"Chloe?! What are you doing?! You must be in bed!" Her father gasped as he jumped to his feet.

Chloe tilted her head, giving them all an innocent look. "Daddy? Why are you crying?" She asked. Cloud stood up from the chair he was sitting in before walking forward and bending down beside her. He looked her over, confusion only growing more and more on his face. His blue eyes met the Ex-President's own confused eyes. "She's been healed. She's no longer injured."

Everyone looked astonished. Yet, the rancher and his son was now bursting into tears of happiness. "Mah lil' Chloe! She's to live?!" The farmer asked with astonishment.

"Daddy, of course I'm going to live. My angel saved me. He came to me after you left and told me that I was going to be okay. He kissed my forehead and healed me." The little girl said softly.

The rancher hurried over to her and scooped her up. "Your angel, hm? I believe that. Was he a good angel?" He asked, wiping his tears away. Chloe giggled as she looked at the smiles on Cloud and Rufus's faces. She nodded to her father then. "Yup! He saved me!" She then looked back at Cloud. "He also told me to give you a message, Mr. Cloud."

Cloud only smiled as he stepped closer. "Really? What message is that?" He asked in a playful way. He was used to this sort of thing from the other children Tifa looked after.

"He said that the man you are looking for is hidden away. He doesn't want to be found because the bad man is looking for him." Chloe paused to think real hard about the rest of the message. But what she had said had made both Cloud and Rufus frown. They could almost feel the world stop spinning on its axel. The two blondes looked at each other with wide eyes.

"What?" They both asked.

Chloe then nodded as she remembered what she was suppose to say. "Oh yeah! He also says that if you want to find the doctor, he says to go to the old mansion, where he will meet you!" She said cheerfully. Cloud stood up quickly, backing away with a look on his face.

The family of ranchers noticed his awkward behavior. "Mr. Strife? Is something wrong? You look very pale." The rancher said.

Cloud slowly shook his head. "Chloe, how did you know about the doctor? Did your angel tell you the doctor's name?"

The little girl nodded. "Yeah! He said that his name was Dr. Ryuu Hogo." She paused. "Uh...I mean Jojo. No! I mean, Hobo." She frowned to think.

"Dr. Hojo." Rufus whispered.

The girl then squealed with frustration. "Hey! I was going to say it!"

Cloud and Rufus just looked right at each other before looking at Chloe. "Chloe, your angel...Did he tell you what his name was?" The blonde swordsman asked.

The girl only shook her head. "No. He didn't tell me his name. He just told me that I could call him Sephy. But he was really nice!"

Cloud immediately stepped back, knocking a vase off of the table. Everyone jumped a little. "Cloud? What is it?" Rufus asked. Cloud's eyes were wide with shock as he just looked at the girl. "Sephiroth."

"What? What about Sephiroth?" The Ex-President asked.

Cloud shook his head as he just stared at Chloe. "Sephy was Sephiroth. That was a nickname Zack Flare gave him when we were in Nibelhiem with him."

Rufus's eyes grew wide. "You're serious?!" He gasped.

Cloud nodded. "It's true! We used to call him Sephy just to annoy him!"

Rufus shook his head looking wild eyed at him. "But Sephiroth is dead! You killed him!" He said. Cloud looked back at Chloe. "What did Sephy look like, Chloe? Did he have long silver hair? Eerie green eyes?"

The girl shook her head. "No." The men all breathed more easily. "He had white, almost like silver, hair and emerald green eyes that sparkled with light. And he wore all black. He told me that he was a dark angel. He even had one black wing."

Cloud's uneasiness shot up to sky high. He could almost feel the ground under him fall from under him. This had to be a joke. Sephiroth couldn't be alive. He was dead. He had killed him years ago. As he did with those annoying brothers of his. Chloe must have dreamed of Sephiroth. She had seen him before, hadn't she? He then asked, "Where did he come from?"

Chloe only shook her head. "I don't know. He just appeared in my room. But he said where he was going. He told me to tell you to meet him in the dark mansion." She said.

Cloud looked a little confused. "Dark mansion? What dark mansion?"

Rufus looked at him, just as confused. "You don't think the Shinra Mansion is the one she's talking about, do you?" He asked. Cloud slowly shook his head. "Who knows? We're going there anyway. If Sephiroth is indeed alive and is at the mansion, we'll take care of him."  
Rufus nodded but Chloe shook her head. "If you mean you're going to kill him, I wouldn't. He's an angel. You can't kill angels."

Cloud flicked his bangs out of his eyes before he grabbed his bag. "Watch me. Let's go, Shinra." He said turning towards the door. The Ex-President nodded and joined the spikey blonde.

The rancher and his family followed the two, looking at them while they climbed onto their motorcycles. "Thank you, Mr. Strife, Mr. Shinra. You have saved our lives from those monsters. I wish there was something we could do for you." The Rancher said. Cloud shook his head as he placed his sunglasses over his eyes. "You've done enough. We have other things to worry about right now. You just take care of your family." He told him.

The rancher only nodded. "I will. Thank you." He said. The two blondes only nodded before kicking their bikes alive and speeding off towards the Midgar Swamp. Next stop, Junon Harbor.

* * *

The two Turks had arrived with several men and women to see what the damage was of Kalm. They only hoped that there wasn't very many people hurt. But to their surprise, the entire town was still standing and there was not one inch of damage at all. The children were skipping around merrily and women were laughing together. While the men were throwing scrap metal into smoking piles. Everything seemed to be just fine.  
It confused the entire group being lead by the two confused Turks.  
Reno hopped off the back of the truck, along with Rude and looked around. "What in the hell is going on here?" He muttered. His companion only shook his head. "I have no idea, Reno. But I think it'd be wise to ask."

Reno nodded as he hurried over to the closest man. "Hey, buddy. What the hell's going on here? We just came from Midgar 'cause we saw a huge explosion from over here. We thought that Kalm might've needed some help."

The man looked at him before smiling. "Yeah, there was an explosion 45 minutes ago. You're just a little late if you wanted to help though." He shrugged. "But our sweet Angel took care of them robots pretty well, along with those two from the Turks." He nodded to the scrap pile of metal.

Reno and Rude looked at one another before they looked back at the man. "You said two Turks helped out with robots, right? Where are they?"

The man pointed towards the pub. "Getting a drink and visiting with Angel. They're at the pub if you want to see them."

Reno nodded before looking at the people they came with. "You guys help out for a while with the scrap piles. We're just going to find out who the Turks are."  
The driver of the truck nodded and began instructing the others to help. The two Turks only walked straight to the pub.

They pushed the door open and looked around when they arrived. There was quite a few people in the pub. Some were laughing and cheering about the woman, Angel's victory. They kept lifting up their drinks towards a corner where three people were sitting. Immediately, Reno and Rude grinned when they saw the first two facing their way.

Elena was the first to see Reno and Rude enter. She leapt to her feet and waved her hand into the air. "Reno! Rude! Over here!" She said happily.  
The two walked over, not paying much attention to the third person. Tseng smiled up at them as they joined their table. "Reno, Rude. What a suprise. What are you doing here? I thought you would be in Midgar watching over Rufus. Unless, of course, he is here."

The red head just shook his head. "Nope. Rufus took off with Strife to go find some doctor, suppose to be Hojo's stinking brother or something."

That took the other two Turks by surprise. "Hojo has a brother? I wasn't aware of that."

"His name is Ryuu Hojo, Tseng. I've seen him before. He's quite nice. Definitely more nicer than Professor Hojo." The woman in pink spoke up.

Reno and Rude couldn't help but look at her when she did speak up. And who they saw sitting right there, they weren't ready to see. Reno leapted back with shock. "Holy shit!" He gasped. Rude just stood right where he was, staring at the woman. They were looking at the face of a woman they believed to be dead.

Aeris Gainsborough.

Tseng and Elena both laughed along with the woman. "Reno, Rude, you remember Aeris. She used to travel around with Cloud and his group. Aeris, you couldn't have possibly forgotten Reno."

The pretty, green eyed woman nodded her greeting. "I remember him very well. It's good to see you two again."

Reno just stood back away, staring at her like a ghost. His face had gone very pale and his eyes were wide as golf balls. "What the hell's going on here?! She's dead, isn't she?" He asked, pointing towards Aeris, who smiled. Tseng only shook his head as he motioned to two extra chairs. "I think you better sit down. Aeris will explain."

Hesitantly, Reno and Rude both took their chairs, still staring at Aeris. Aeris gave them another smile as she pushed her long bangs back. "I suppose I should just explain how I came back from the Lifestream, shouldn't I?" She asked. Reno slowly nodded. "That would be nice."

Aeris took a deep breath before she looked at the two arrivals with sweetness. "Not long after the Geostigma crisis, the Lifestream made a discovery while watching over the Planet. There was still a threat in the world. There is still evil that is trying to destroy what is good and conquere the Planet. The Ancients of the Lifestream came up with a plan to help rid of the evil." She shook her head as she looked at the confused looks on Reno and Rude's face. "The Lifestream chose a few individuals and sent them right back to the Planet. You could say that we were reborn in a way, only in our own bodies. We were sent back to find out where the threat is and what it is. Of course, I believe we might have gotten seperated along the way. I'm not sure where the others are. I only woke up here near Kalm. I didn't exactly remember who I was though. I was confused of where and who I was. That is until the Planet started to talk to me. It told me things of what might help me. Just like it did today, warning me about the robots that were coming to destroy the town. I stayed here in Kalm because I knew the people would need me. But soon I have to leave them. There's trouble brewing. Someone has to stop it. I have to find the others that came with me to stop the evil."

Reno and Rude glanced at one another before they looked back at her. "So, the Lifestream brought you back to life to get rid of some nameless evil? Who were the others?" The usually silent Turk asked.

Aeris shook her head, with a sad look on her face. "I'm not sure. I can't remember who was with me as we came down from the Promised land. I'll know who they are when I see them. The Lifestream told us that we were suppose to find someone, to assist them. I can't remember who it was that we're suppose to find. But I'll know when I find them. Who ever we're suppose to find, they have a connection with the evil being. I just don't know how." She told them.

Reno ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned back into his chair. "Those monsters then...they must have a connection with whatever she's talking about. Someone created those monsters to destroy people. It's gotta be that Dr. Ryuu dude."

Aeris sat up straighter and shook her head. "No. He wouldn't. He's a good man. The Lifestream even told me so. The nameless evil, so you call it, is after him too. He might be the one I'm suppose to be looking for."

Reno shrugged. "Well, you better hope you find him first or at least find Strife and Rufus before they fiind him, 'cause they're after him too. They're trying to find out if he's behind the monsters. And if they find him and he is behind them or if he refuses to help them, they're going to kill him."

Aeris looked troubled to hear that. She slowly shook her head as she placed her hands into her lap. "Well then, we should go after them. We can't let Cloud and Rufus Shinra hurt him. He might just be the very one who can answer the questions we need."

Rude nodded. "We can't go after anyone without telling Tifa."

Reno then winced while swearing under his breath. "Oh yeah! We've got to get back to her! We told her that we wouldn't be gone too long." He stood up, along with the others. "Hey, Aeris. Why don't you come with us? You, Tseng and Elena. You can meet the kids Tif's looking after. They're such awesome kids. Besides, Lockhart would love to see you again. Do you know how many times I've caught her looking at pictures of the whole group with you in it?" He asked in a sarcastic way.

Aeris giggled as she stood up with them. She looked around the pub before nodding. "These people would be sad if I left them, though they don't need me anymore. I don't know if I could leave them."

Reno shrugged as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to. If you're suppose to find out what's trying to conquere the Planet and all."

Aeris slowly nodded. "You have a point." she then smiled at him. "All right. I'll come with you."

Tseng smiled with Elena. "Well, then. Allow us to escort you back to Midgar." He said. Everyone nodded.

The people of Kalm were sad to see their Angel to go, but she did promise them that she would return to them once again. They told her that they were going to hold her to that promise. So the Pink Angel, the Turks and the people of Midgar were on their way back to the city.

However, along the way, a deep frown caressed Aeris's face. She was looking like she was thinking hard about something or if listening to a conversation far from where she was. She was squinting her eyes a little as she just looked off towards the city. Almost at the boundaries of the city, she gasped and sat up straight catching the four Turks's attention. "No!"

"Aeris?" Tseng asked touching her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Aeris shook her head as she stared at the city with a painful look. "We have to hurry! There's trouble! I think...I think Tifa's in danger!"

Reno swore loudly as he spun around and looked into the cab of the truck. "Hey! Speed it up! Take us to The 7th Heaven and pronto!" He yelled. The truck immediately quickened its speed.

They reached the bar in no time. Or at least what was left of it. They could see fire and smoke bursting out of the windows along with large crowds in the streets fetching water to put out the fire. The Turks and the young woman looked on with horror.

"Shit! I knew one of us should have stayed with her!" Reno swore as he leapt out of the truck before it stopped. The other three Turks jumped out as fast as they could as well, along with Aeris. The five of them raced towards the building, but stopped before going inside.

"Tifa! Marlene! Denzel!" Reno yelled as he stared up at the burning building.

Rude tightened his gloves on his hands. "We better go in to make sure they're not in there!" He yelled over the screaming and barking orders. Reno nodded as he turned to look at the others. "You guys stay out here with Aeris! We'll go in!" He said. Tseng nodded, placing an around both Aeris and Elena, who looked extremely scared. They watched as Reno and Rude tied scarves around their nose and mouths and then rushed into the building.

The two of them could hardly see a thing because of the black smoke and bright flames. "Tifa Lockhart! Marlene!" The red head yelled as he held up an arm to protect his eyes.

Rude rushed over and started throwing burning tables over to starve the fire. Reno rushed towards the stairs. "I'll go look upstairs!" He said but stopped when he heard coughing from the far side of the bar.

"Reno! Over here!"

Reno and Rude turned when they heard the weak voice. They recognized the voice as Denzel's. They just couldn't see him. "Denzel?! Denzel! Where are you, man! Keep yelling!" Reno yelled as his eyes searched the bar.

Rude then pointed over to the counter. "Reno! Over there!" He yelled rushing over. Reno looked to see Denzel's face peering at them through the smoke. Next to him, was an unconscious Tifa.

The two Turks ran over to them, dodging firery beams falling down as they went. "Shit! Tifa, wake up!" Reno yelled.

Denzel shook his head as he coughed violently from the smoke. "She's hurt, Reno! The man hit her hard over the head!" He yelled over the roars of the flames. Reno looked confused as he lift Tifa up into his arms. "What man, Den?! Did someone do this?!" He yelled.

Denzel nodded as he covered his mouth and nose. "Yes! The man that took Marlene! I tried to stop him but he hit me too! Then he tied me to the bar stool so I couldn't get out!" He held up a rope to his ankle. "But I used the fire to burn it off! I tried to pull Tifa out of the building but she was too heavy! I couldn't leave her!" He cried out, tears swarming his eyes.

Rude lift the boy to his feet while Reno gathered Tifa up into his arms. "It's all right, Denzel! We're here now! Is there anyone else in the building?" He yelled.

Denzel shook his head. "No! It's just us! The man took Marlene!" He cried.

Reno rushed towards the door. "Come on, Rude! Bring the kid! The building's not going to last for very long!" Rude nodded and they rushed out as fast as they could.

As soon as they were out, people cheered to see that they had saved Tifa and Denzel. Reno hurried over to where Tseng, Elena and Aeris were. All three looked worried when they saw Tifa unconscious.

"Tifa!" Aeris cried out, clapping her hands over her mouth.

Reno carefully set Tifa down on the ground and stood up. The woman in pink dropped down beside her immediately, looking her over. Elena was looking around though. "Where's Marlene?!" She asked worriedly.

Reno shook his head as he looked at the burning building. "She's gone."

Elena gasped, covering her own mouth. "No! She's dead?!" She gasped. Denzel coughed several times as he shook his head. "The man...too-took her! The man who beat up Tifa!" He gasped. Tseng quickly bent down beside him, rubbing his back to help him. "What man, Denzel? Who hurt Tifa?"

The young boy was in the middle of coughing and crying. Tears were streaming down his dirty face. "The man with glowing green eyes."

Everyone stared at him. "Glowing green eyes?! The man must have been injected with Mako. But what else did he look like?" Tseng asked. Denzel shook his head trying to remember. "He...he had black hair and two swords. He was really fast! Faster than Tifa!"

Rude looked just as astonished as Reno. "What?! He was faster than Tifa?! That's impossible! She's faster than Rude and me put together! How can he be faster than Tifa?!" The red head gasped.

That was the que for Tifa to stir. She groaned, her face scrunching up a little. She shook her head, while her eyes fluttered open.

Everyone just looked down at her. "Tifa!" They all said at once.

Tifa blinked several times looking straight up. Her eyes immediately met the green ones of her old friend. She looked confused for a second as she just stared at the smile on Aeris's face. She then shook her head, rubbing her brow. "I must have hit my head harder than I thought." She muttered.

Aeris smiled as she looked down at her. "No, Tifa. It's me. It's really me."

Tifa stared up at her, before they grew wide. She jolted up into a sitting position, backing away from Aeris. "Oh my god! I'm dead! I've got to be dead! That bastard killed me!" She gasped.

Everyone just stared at her with growing smiles. Aeris just shook her head. "No, Tifa. You're alive. And so am I. You're safe now."

Tifa stared at her former friend with wide eyes. She slowly looked around at the others, standing around her. She then shook her head. "But...but...how? How are you alive?" She asked. Aeris shook her own head. "It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later. But right now you have to tell us what happened. Who attacked you and took Marlene?"

Tifa looked extremely distraunt to hear that last bit. "So he really did take her." She lowered her head, her eyes filled with tears. She winced a little before slapping her hand over her middle.

Everyone looked her over. "Tifa, what's wrong?" Aeris asked as she gently touched her friend's side. Tifa shook her head as she removed her hand, revealing a little bit of blood. "Don't worry. It's only a nick."

Reno frowned as he just glared at her. "Tifa, you better show us this wound right now."

Tifa glared right back at him. "I told you. I'm fine."

Aeris shook her head. "Tifa, please just let us see it."

Tifa sighed before she lift up her shirt a little to reveal a deep gash. Everyone frowned with scorn. "Tifa, that is not just a nick. That's bad." Tseng said.

Aeris blew out a sigh before she held a hand up above the gash. Light surrounded her as she closed her eyes. The Turks all stepped back with surprise as they watched the gash vanished right before their eyes. The woman in pink smiled as she opened her eyes again. She had healed Tifa. "Now Tifa, tell us everything." She said. Tifa slowly nodded as she climbed to her feet.

She began to explain what happened. She told them all what had happened the minute the man walked into the bar then how their conversation turned into a fight. She nearly started to cry as she finished.

"As soon as he slashed me he told me to tell Cloud hello for him. And to tell him to think about how it feels to be useless to saving their own skin. I didn't understand what he meant. He kept calling me the tour guide." She looked at Aeris with tearfilled eyes. "Why would he call me that?"

Aeris frowned as she looked at Tifa. She had a deep thoughtful look on her face. "You were a tour guide in Nibelheim those years ago when Cloud, Sephiroth and Zack went to your home town, right? Do you think he was there too?"

Tifa looked just a little confused as she thought about it. "No. I don't think so. I would have recognized him. But when he revealed his face, I didn't know him at all. He couldn't have been the other soldier with Cloud because that man died. He fell from a hundred foot drop."

Reno ran his fingers through his hair. "So what are we going to do? Someone's got to go after this guy and get Marlene back."

Tifa nodded as she looked at him. "I have to be the one to go after her. I was put in charge of her. It's my duty to get her back. Barret was trusting me to take care of Marlene and I blew it."

Tseng folded his arms and looked at her. "So what, you going to go on your own? That wouldn't be smart, Tifa. You have to remember your duty to the children. Who would watch over them?"

Tifa sighed as she shook her head. "I don't know. But look at my home. It was their home too. They have no where to go. What am I suppose to do about them now?"

Everyone was quiet as they glanced at one another. Then Reno grinned as he dug into his pockets and pulled out a set of keys. Rude's frown turned into his own grin as he thought the very same thing as his friend was thinking. Tseng frowned at the two. "You better not be thinking what I think your thinking."

Reno shrugged as he tossed the keys up into the air then caught them again. "Tseng, we're going to do it. He's not around right now. Besides, he's a friend to Tifa and he loves kids. He'll do it for them."

Tifa ande Aeris both looked a little confused as they looked at the Turks. "What are you talking about?" The woman in pink asked.

Reno just looked right at Tifa as he held out the keys. "You can use Reeve's apartment. He won't be using it for a while. Plus it's huge, big enough for all of the kids. We'll go after this freak and get Marlene back."

Tifa shook her head as she didn't take the keys. "No, Reno. I told you. I have to go after him. I was in charge of Marlene. Barret asked me to make sure nothing happened to her and I failed to do it. Now I have to go after her. I'm not staying around here, waiting for an answer if Marlene was hurt or not. I have to go after her." She said in a quiet voice.

No one spoke for a long minute before Tseng slowly nodded. "All right, Tifa. You must go. We understand that."

"But what about the kids? Someone's got to watch over them." Reno said.

Tifa nodded as she rubbed her forehead. "I know. I can try to see if one of my workers would watch over them but they're not fighters. So if a monster attacks, they'll be in trouble."

There was another silence before Elena blew out a sigh and brush her bangs out of her eyes. "I'll stay with the children, to protect them."  
Tifa looked at her with surprise. "You don't need to do that. I can get someone..."  
Tseng shook his head. "It's all right, Tifa. I'll stay with her and the children as well. We have nothing else to do. But Reno and Rude will go with you. You guys just get Marlene back."  
Tifa gave him a gentle smile. "Thank you, Tseng. Elena. I really appreciate it." She then stepped forward and gave each of them a hug. Aeris did the same as soon as the slightly taller woman stepped back. "We'll both get her back. And find out who this man is and why he took Marlene."  
Everyone nodded. Tifa then looked extremely serious as she got into her pocket and pulled out her PHS. "I think it's time to alert the others as well. Barret has to know what happened. And if the others knew what happened, they would keep an eye out for Marlene." Again, everyone nodded.

"Yes. They have to know." Aeris said.

Tifa flipped the phone open and made the first call.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Here's a quick shout out to the reviewers of the last chapter. **

**bang on the head: lol. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. ...Well, it's really not hard to figure out who Jake really is. But no, he didn't attack Tifa. He would never do that. The guy who attacked Tifa is someone different. You'll find out who he is later on in the story and what he wants with Cloud. He is a very vital character in this story. He does help piece the story together. Enjoy.**

**IluvAUs: Yes, it is a shocker, isn't it? Sephiroth actually doing a good deed. But he does have a reason. And that creep isn't Zack, I promise you. He's just someone that once knew Cloud. You'll find out who he is soon. **

**Anyway, on with the story. Please read and review once you're finished. !!**

**Chapter VII:**

He walked across the ruins of the village, his eyes full of sorrow and guilt. How could he not see this coming? How could he not have seen the monsters coming to attack. And now, because of the monsters, the people had lost what they had worked so hard for. Everything had been destroyed. And he knew a few people would blame him. They would blame him for such misfortune.

Kale lowered his head with sorrow. He hadn't liked being apart of this whole village, but he had not wanted anyone to die. It was no doubt that people had died after all of those worms attacked. But why did they attack? Why did they attack this village when they were no threat. There was a fair few monsters on the island and they never went near the villages. But those worms had.

"Kale! You little mutant!"

He jerked around, his silver bangs fell over his eyes as he looked at the outraged Tilar. Everyone around them turned to see what was going on. April, who had been cradling the body of her dead son, looked up tearfully. "This is all your fault!" Tilar yelled as he rushed at Kale, who backed away from him.

"Tilar! Knock it off!" Cougar barked as he finished hacking at one of the dead worms.

Tilar shot him a look. "No! I won't! Not this time! I have said it once and I will say it again! This little cretin is the source of this mess! Those monsters were after him!" He yelled.

Kale glared at him. "They were not only after me! They were here to destroy this place because it was inhabited with people!" He snapped. Tilar glared right back at him and started to charge but April immediately stepped in between them and shoved him back. "Stay away from him, Tilar! He's only a boy! How could you say that this is his fault!" She demanded. "None of us could stop this attack from happening! None of us could stop the monsters from killing my baby!" She screamed with tears in her eyes.

Kale looked at her with pain. He felt extremely sorry for her. He knew why the monsters had come. He couldn't stay in Mideel. Sooner or later, more monsters would come again.

"April! I am sorry for Tarek but those monsters came because of that little rat! He has to pay for..." Tilar didn't get to finish.

Instead, April stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. Everyone gasped as they watched her just glare at him. "Tilar! How dare you! You never had a child before! You do not mean that at all! You are a vile man who just wants to blame Kale because he's different from all of us!" She snapped.

Tilar glared right back at her. "That is not why, April. Ever since he got here, he's been nothing but trouble. No good has ever..."

"You want me gone? Fine, Tilar. You win. I'll leave." Kale suddenly spoke up as he turned away.

Everyone just looked at him. April slowly stepped forward. "Kale, you can't leave just because of this big idiot." She said. Kale stopped and lowered his head. "I'm not leaving because of Tilar, April. I'm leaving because I have to. Those monsters were sent here to find me. I can feel it. I've to got to leave before I endanger you and the others." He said in a low voice.

April shook her head as she hugged herself. "Kale..."

"Kale, you are not endangering us. Those monsters would have come anyways. Even if you weren't here." Cougar spoke up.

Kale turned around, looking at the large man. "I know they would have. It was only fortunate that I was here. But I have to go. They will return as long as I'm here. I just know they will." He then shook his head. "I've got to find my older brothers."

Everyone looked surprised to hear that. Kale slowly nodded as he moved towards April with a faint smile. "I remember who I am now, April. You were right. I would remember some time. The problem is, I don't like who I was. I was a bad person before I died."

No one spoke as they just stared at him. April gently touched his shoulder. "You died? Why? Who killed you?" She sounded almost like she was angry at the person that had killed him.

Kale slowly nodded. "I did die. I remember it. I died because I was bad. I was trying to kill people. But now I'm reborn. I don't get it but I will find out why. And I will pay the person back who was responcible for those monsters. I promise."

April faintly smiled as she slowly nodded. "I believe you, Kale. I know that if you were reborn for a reason, that reason is for good."

Kale faintly smiled back. "My name is Kadaj. It's not Kale. Thank you for being nice to me, April. It's taught me that people like me can work together with people like you. But now I have to go."

Tilar stepped forward. "You're still bound to this island, brat! You can't leave unless we say so." He said sharply.

Kadaj turned his eyes onto him, almost making the man shiver from the coolness in them. He stepped away from April and faced Tilar with a dark look on his face. "Are you going to try and stop me, Tilar?" Even his voice had gotten darker. "If you try to fight me, you will only lose. So don't even try it. I don't want to fight you. My fight is with the person that sent those monsters. I know you've never liked me, Tilar. But you have to trust me now. My brothers and I are the only ones that can stop this."

There was a very long silence before Tilar blew out a sigh and then a faint smile appeared on his face. "Well, in that case, give 'em hell for us, Kale."

Kadaj faintly smiled at him and nodded. "I will."

And after he was given new cloths and a sword to fight with, he left them. The boatman of the village gave him a ride to the main land. And Kadaj's adventure began.

* * *

The boat finally touched down onto the sandy beach and the two jumped out of the boat, glancing around for anything that might have been a threat to them. Though they both felt sorry for anything that would attack them. They could take care of any monsters that attacked them. Eden glanced around then began towards the Costa Del Sol. Jake did the same and followed with his arms folded. 

"So, what's the battle plan, Eden?"

The young woman glanced over her shoulder at the swordsman behind her. She just shook her head as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "We'll just stop here for provisions and other supplies."

Jake nodded as he followed her. "You know, it's been a while since I was last in this place. Maybe we should stay for the night. The water here is great for swimming." He said. Eden rolled her eyes as she just walked straight for the town. "If you want to stay, feel free to. But I'm moving on. I've got better things to do."

Jake looked dully after her. "You've never heard of fun, have you?"

Eden, again, rolled her eyes and looked at him. "Fun? What's that mean?" She asked sarcastically.

Jake rolled his own eyes. "Jeeze, E.B. We've got to work on your fun streak." He said just as sarcastically.

Eden shook her head as she turned around to keep going but stopped. She felt something strange deep within. She could feel pain, sorrow, just dread. It just came way too fast, making her dizzy. Eden quickly slapped a hand to her forehead and staggered back right into Jake, who wrapped his arm around her to steady her. She gave a low groan from pain.

"Ede? Eden, what's wrong?" Jake asked in concerned. He just held her up as she started to fall.

After a minute, Eden shook off the dizziness then looked up at Jake, who was still holding her. She quickly pulled away with a jerk. "Don't touch me."

Jake frowned with annoyance. "That's another thing we've got to work on. Your gratitude skills." He then folded his arms. "So, what happened?"

Eden thought for a moment then shook her head. She ran her fingers through her blood red hair as she looked at the ground. "I don't know. I just felt...something's bad happened, Jake. It's like a lot of people had just died all at once. I could feel their pain."

Jake stared at her with concern. "Is it that whole Phoenix thing again?"

Eden looked at him with surprise. "What?"

Jake pulled a face. "Eden, I might be a dork sometimes but I'm not an idiot. I've heard you talking to yourself or at least that's what it's sounding like. Besides, that Phoenix inside of you told me when I just caught you from passing out just now."

Eden frowned at him as she turned away. "You know, Jake, I prefer you being an idiot."

Jake smirked at her. "I bet you would."

There was a long silence before Jake nodded. "So, you going to explain about that thing?"

Eden glanced over at him then turned away not saying anything. There was another long silence then the young woman shook her head. "It's too long of a story to tell you about how I got her, but Phoenix is a demon. I've had her for a while now. Since I was a child. She was my first and only friend, before I met you. Also my guardian." She turned around and looked at the look on Jake's face. He looked extremely grave.

"Do I want to know how you got her?

Eden shook her head. "You're probably better off without knowing." She told him. Jake nodded. "I think you're right. So, what about that just happened?" He asked with concern still on his tone.

Eden shook her head again. "Phoenix has this way of knowing that people die an unclean death. Problem is, if effects me too. And just now, a lot of people had just died. I can feel it."

Jake swore softly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "That's not cool at all. What do you think happened?" He asked. Eden shook her head once again. "I don't know. Monsters maybe. There has been a new number of the most unusual monsters showing up now. It might have been them."

Jake nodded. "I bet. Well, we better get going."

Eden nodded as they began walking towards Costa Del Sol. While they were walking, Eden once again had a flash in her mind, this time it wasn't making her dizzy. She only saw it as if she had seen it before and it was just a memory. A flash of a man standing before her. A taller man with long silver hair and strange blue-green cat like eyes. He looked to about 24 years old. He was just standing there, looking at her. She shook the memory of him out of her mind before continuing on the way.

They didn't get very far when they heard some kind of commotion going on. They looked around for what it was but didn't see anything. So they followed the noise to where they found five very large men surrounding a young teen girl. She wasn't much younger than Eden. What surprised Eden and Jake even more was the fact that she was a petite looking girl and she kicking their butt very well.

That is until one rose a gun and aimed at the girl's head. That was when the sound of a gunshot rang through the air.

The theives around the Thief Princess jumped and looked around. They looked over at the leader to see a very shocked and pained look on his face while he was aiming at the young girl. Yuffie Kisaragi wasn't looking at him though. She was looking past him with a hint of surprise on her face. She had finally noticed the two new arrivals.  
The men all turned around to see Jake with his two long bladed daggers in his hands and Eden standing beside him, holding a gun. The end of the nozzle was smoking. Her eyes were blazing with fury.

"All right, boys. If you wish to live, get the hell away from that girl and take off." Jake warned.

No one moved, except the leader. He fell back onto the ground. Dead.

The other men finally looked at one another before charging at the two. "Kill them!" One yelled.

Jake smirked as he stood ready. "Some how, we hoped you would say that." He said before he spun in a circle, slashing out his daggers.

Eden quickly holstered the gun and yanked out her sword. She too had spun in a circle only to meet one of the men's blades with it. She smirked coldly at him. "You want to play with the Phoenix? All right. But don't say I didn't warn you." She said, except it wasn't exactly her voice.

Yuffie just stood there looking surprised until she noticed one of them charging her. She placed a determined look on her face and held up her Crystal Cross then flung it towards him. The blade spun rapidly towards him before cutting him right through the middle.

The battles were over before they really began. The three were victorious. To their ultimate surprise, each man they killed had burst into black dust with green crystals. Jake stood beside Eden looking down at the dust. Then he turned his eyes onto Yuffie, who was staring with surprise.

"Hey there. You all right?"

The Princess Thief tilted her head before nodding. "Yeah. I'm fine. I could've taken care of them on my own, you know." She said as she wiped the blood on her Crystal Cross on the grass.

Jake did the same. "Yeah. We noticed. But if Ede's hadn't shot that guy, you would have been shot yourself." he said nodding to Eden, who only slid her blade into it's rightful place.

The three stood together, looking at one another. "So, what was that all about?" Jake asked as he folded his arms. Yuffie shrugged lazily. "They tried to steal from me so I taught them a lesson."

Jake grinned. "Hey, that's all cool."

Eden rolled her eyes before she turned towards the dust and green crystals. "Believe me, they were not trying to steal from you. They were trying to kill you." She said as she bent down.

Yuffie glared at the girl. "And how would you know?"

Jake sighed as he shook his head. "Believe me. She'd know. You're better off not even asking. 'Cause she's not going to answer." He then shrugged. "So what's your name?"

Yuffie shook her head. "The name's Yuffie. What about you guys?'

Jake nodded. "I'm Jake. This is Eden. What are you doing out here by yourself?" He asked. Yuffie crinkled her nose. "Look, I'm a traveller who is also doing my best to buying as much materia as I can, okay? I can take care of myself. I'm from Avalanche, okay? Maybe you've heard of them?" She asked sarcastically.

Eden stood up quickly and looked at her with surprise. "You? You're from Avalanche?" She earned a nod.

Jake just looked at her in surprise. "You know them, Ed?"

Eden glanced at him before looking at Yuffie. "Not personally. I've only heard of them."

Yuffie nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised. We did save the Planet from Sephiroth and his dorky Meteor. Not to mention kicked the crap out of his clones."

Eden tilted her head. "Sephiroth..." She whispered.

Yuffie's eyes lit up at the way she heard the woman say the name. "You know him?" She asked. Eden finally looked away and Jake sighed with frustration. "She's not going to answer, you know? She doesn't like talking about her past. So don't even ask."

Yuffie slowly nodded looking dull. "Sounds like someone I know." She muttered. She then shook her head. "So where are you heading?"

Jake shrugged again as he watched Eden bend down beside the dust again. "We're heading to Nibelheim. We're kind of looking for something to explain this whole monster increase thing."

Yuffie nodded as she smiled. "Well, I'm heading there too! Maybe we can travel together." She said. Eden looked over her shoulder at the girl. She studied her for a minute before slowly nodded. "You can come with us as long as you don't try to steal our materia."

Yuffie looked surprised to hear that. Of course, she had been planning it but how would this woman know?

As if she read her mind, Eden turned slightly to get a look at her. "There are things you would never guess that I'd know about. And one of those things is, I know people. I've heard of you, Yuffie Kisaragi. So don't play me a fool. And don't try to steal from me. Because if you do, you will get hurt. Planet hero or not." She warned her before looking back at the dust.

Yuffie looked wided up at Jake. "Is she always like that?"

Jake smirked as he shook his head. "Don't worry about her. She's like this when she first meets people. She'll open up to you once she gets to know you. So, take this word advice. Don't try to hide things from her. She will find out what they are." He then bent down beside Eden and looked at the dust.

Yuffie joined them. "What is that stuff?"

Eden took a fistful of the dust and looked it over. She even poked the crystals before aburtly dropping them and stood up quickly. She looked alarmed about something.

Jake looked at her in concern as he stood up. "Eden, what's wrong?"

Eden stared down at the dust and green crystals with distaste. "These men were working for someone terrible. Those crystals are Mako crystals. But there's something inside them. They're also Jenova cells."

Yuffie stood up looking wide eyed at her. "What?! You're kidding right?!" She gasped.

Eden shook her head as she touched her temple. She looked like she was talking to someone from inside her mind. "No. That's what they are. I've seen them before. I can't tell you how I know what they are. It's best if I didn't. For your own good." She shook her head as she looked at Jake. "We have to hurry. We have to go Nibelheim now."

Jake nodded. "All right. Let's get moving then." He turned to Yuffie. "You can come with us. Just don't pull anything on us. Believe me, Eden's patience level is pretty low. And her temper can really blow if it's triggered." He told her.

Yuffie nodded as she dug into her travel pack. "All right. Before we go, I have to call someone. A friend of mine has to know about this. He'd kill me if I didn't tell him."

Jake and Eden nodded. They watched as Yuffie pulled out a cell phone and pushed a button before pressing it against her ear. She was quiet for ten long seconds before she nodded. "Yo, Cloud!"

Eden saw the look on Jake's face. He looked like he recognized that name very well.

"Yeah, it's me, Yuffie. Look, you will not believe what just happened to me." The young thief then explained to whoever she was talking to about what just happened. After a minute, she looked surprised. "What?! You're travelling with Shinra?! Are you crazy! He tried to kill us!" Silence. Then Yuffie sighed with a dull look. "All right, all right. I'll shut up. But seriously, travelling with Rufus Shinra? You must be nuts."

It was Jake's turn to see the look on Eden's face. She knew that name very well. Her eyes even darkened at the sound of it.

"We're going to Nibelheim. Huh?" Yuffie paused. "Oh! I've met these two people. They kind of just saved my ass from the jerks. They're going to Nibelheim for some reason but they didn't tell me what their reason was. Huh?! You are?! Okay! We'll meet you there then!" She said then she hung up. Yuffie turned to Eden and Jake. "Looks like Cloud's heading to Nibelheim too. We might end up running into him on the way. You guys, don't mind, do you?"

Jake tilted his head. "That wouldn't happen to be Cloud Strife, is it?"

Yuffie nodded with a grin. "Yup! He was our leader in Avalanche. He's really cool!" she then frowned. "You sound as if you know him. Do you?"

Jake's face softened a little as he remembered something. "Yeah. I knew him. He's an old friend. We've haven't seen each other for years now. I suppose you could say we knew each other when we were in SOLDIER."

Yuffie looked surprised. "You were in SOLDIER?"

Jake nodded before looking away. "Yeah, I was. But something happened and I quit the Shinra. I'm not going to get into it. It's probably best if I didn't."

Eden nodded as she turned and started to walk. "Let's go now. We have to reach the mountain before dark. There we'll make camp." She said. The other two nodded and they began following her.

* * *

The four of them were standing outside the town, waiting for the pilot to arrive. They were going to go by airship, to find Cloud and Rufus since Tifa had failed to get a hold of them. She knew they must have been in a cave or something since the call didn't go through. She had gotten a hold of Barret and told him what had happened. He was not a happy person at all. From what Tifa had heard, he had blown something up to cool his anger. He wasn't angry with Tifa one bit. It was the fact that a stranger had nearly killed her and had taken his daughter, threatening her life. He didn't know about Aeris just yet. Tifa hadn't told him because she had asked her not to. 

Then she called Cid and told him about what happened. The captain nearly blew the top, himself. He was cursing terribly on the phone and it made the pretty martial artist wince as she listened to him. After calming him down, she talked him into picking her and the Turks up. She even pretended that Aeris was a Turk. It took a minute trying to convince him that Reno and Rude were trying to help. But after awhile, and a promise from the two, they would go with them.

Now they were just standing around, waiting for Cid to show up. He had even stopped by Cosmos Canyon to pick up Red XIII, who had not been very happy that Marlene's life was in danger.

Tifa was still trying to get a hold of Cloud, Yuffie, Vincent and Reeve. She was wondering why she couldn't get Reeve though. She understood why Vincent wouldn't answer the PHS. He was never very fond of answering any phones at all.

As for Yuffie, she could have accidently broke her phone, again.

And Cloud, he was travelling so he could be in a place where the reception was bad. But, Reeve, she knew he was usually busy but he always answered the phone when she called. She hoped that they were okay.

"Look! There they are!" Reno said pointing.

Tifa looked up to see the Shera coming down from the sky. She sighed softly as a faint smile touched her lips. It would be the first time in three months since she saw Cid and the others again. She glanced over at Aeris, who was smiling towards her.

"You ready to meet the others again?"

The pretty woman in pink slowly nodded. "Of course. I've missed them so much."

Tifa smiled. "They've missed you too, Aeris. They've missed you too."

The ship finally landed and the ladder came down. Tifa could see Cid looking down at them, a not so happy look on his face. He knew it was only because of Reno and Rude. He had never really wanted any Turks aboard his ship. He didn't recognize Aeris at all because she was wearing different cloths. Blue jeans and a pink halter top. She was also wearing a red hoodie with the hood up to hide her face and her hair. They wanted to surprise the others.

"So, ya comin' up or not?!" Cid called from above.

Reno and Rude motioned for the two ladies to go up first. So Tifa climbed up first with Aeris right behind her.

When they reached the top, Cid helped Tifa over, who threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. The captain sighed as he hugged her back. "I know, Teef. I know. Ya okay, girl?"

Tifa nodded as she pulled away from him. "Yes. I'm fine. I'm still a little sore from the fight but I'll just fine." She then saw Red XIII standing back. She smiled as she went over to him and patted him on the head. "Hello, Nanaki. How are you doing?"

The large feline creature purred a little as he rubbed against her. "I'm doing just fine, Tifa."

"Uh, Teef. Who's your friend?"

Tifa turned around when she heard Cid speak up. He was in the middle of helping Aeris over the railing. She was keeping her head down though so they couldn't see her face. Tifa then noticed Red XIII stand up aburtly with a wide eyed look. "What?! This is impossible!" He gasped.

Tifa smiled as she went over to Aeris's side. She then gently placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Um, Cid, Nana. There's something you have to know before I tell you who she is. This is Angel of Kalm. But she's also an old friend of our's." She saw Red XIII slowly back away.  
"It's impossible! How...how did this happen?! But..." He sounded like he was in pain. It was like he was dreaming and his dream was being cruel.

Cid just looked confused. "What the #& are you talking about?! Who is she?" he asked in confusion.

Tifa saw Reno and Rude climb over the railing next but the other two weren't paying much attention to them. She only looked at Aeris, giving her a nod. "Why don't you show your face now, Aer."

The woman in pink nodded before she lowered her hood.

Neither one, Cid and Red XIII were ready for what they were about to see. Both of them just stared at Aeris with wide eyes. Cid had even dropped the unlit death stick in his mouth. He stumbled back, looking extremely stunned. "Oh my &&( god! This is...this is not..." He was saying shaking his head.

Red XIII looked at Tifa. "Tifa, is this a joke? This can't be..."

Aeris smiled as she nodded. "It's all right, you two. It's me. Don't be scared."

Cid tilted his head still looking uneasy. "This...this is extremely...weird."

Red XIII nodded. "And unexpected." He added.

Cide stepped forward looking Aeris over. "So...it's really you? It's no trick?" He asked. Aeris smiled. "It's no trick at all. So don't be afraid." She told him.

Red stepped forward next. "But we saw you die. And Cloud...he put you in the..."

Aeris nodded. "Yes, Nanaki. You saw my death. I did die. And I have been dead for two in a half years until several months ago. It's difficult to explain and very long. So why don't we go have a seat and I can tell you about it."

They all nodded and went inside to talk. The airship started to take off.

"So, where are we heading?" Cid asked.

Tifa looked at him. "We're going to get the others while searching for Cloud and Rufus. They have to know what happened. And Cloud might just know who the man was. The man kept saying his name."

Red XIII lowered his head a little as he looked thoughtful. "Hm. It's the only way we can find out."

Everyone nodded and they went inside. "We also have to keep an eye out for the man and Marlene. For her sake. I hope we find them." Tifa said with a sigh.

Cid gently patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Teef. This guy will not get away with taking Marlene. He's going to be paying with Hell."

* * *

None of them could believe what they were seeing. Never in their life had they seen so many dead people before. Of course, Cloud had seen a lot of deaths before like this and that was Nibelheim. But this was Junon Harbor. 

"Oh my god. What happened here?" Rufus asked as he just sat on the motorcycle looking down at the town below them.

Cloud slowly shook his head as he kicked Fenrir alive again. "I don't know. But let's find out."

The two then rode down towards the town. They could see a few people looking towards them as they entered. Some of the townspeople looked stunned to see Rufus but relieved to see Cloud. The two blondes finally pulled up to where a few people were standing.

"Excuse me. But what happened here?" Rufus asked as he kicked the kick stand down.

The man turned to them, looking at the two. "Mr. Strife, what a surprise." He then looked at Rufus with a frown. "Forgive me for asking in such a manner, but what is he doing here?" He asked in a stern way.

Rufus frowned right back at him. Cloud only shook his head. "That doesn't matter. He's with me and he's not going to cause trouble for you. Now what happened here?"

The man shook his head with a sad look. "This morning we were attacked my monsters." He pointed to where men were throwing familiar dead monsters in a fire pile. Cloud and Rufus both looked surprised to see that it was the same monsters that attacked them. "Those creatures, they're like the ones that attacked us." The Ex-President said. Cloud nodded as he just stared at them.

The man looked confused. "You were attacked by those monsters too?"

Cloud looked at him and nodded. "I'm afraid so. We were at the Chocobo Ranch on the otherside of the mountain. Every single Chocobo had been killed. Nearly killed a young girl as well. We managed to save her though." He looked around. "How many has been killed or injured?"

The man shook his head with a sad sigh. "We've counted at least 20 dead and it's slowly rising. A lot of people were injured as well. Our town's representive is dead as well. But his son...I should say his adopted son, is leaving Junon to hunt down who is responcible. I think he's still down at the docks, waiting for the ship to take off to go to Costa Del Sol."

Cloud nodded as he looked at Rufus. "We're taking that ship. When's it leaving?"

The man shook his head. "I'm not sure. But I'm sure it'll be soon."

Cloud nodded as he kicked Fenrir back alive. "All right. We're catching that ship." he looked at Rufus. "Let's go."

Rufus nodded and they rode over towards the docks.

The two of them reached the docks within minutes. They did see a few people they knew. A few of the people even started waving when they saw Cloud. It was clear they were happy to see the Savior of the Planet. None of them seemed to care about Rufus being around though. A few people had even waved to him as well. He didn't do anything but nod in return.

As soon as they reached the docks, Cloud and Rufus stopped and looked at the ship that would be crossing the ocean. They only hoped that what they were looking for actually existed.

"Cloud!"

The blonde swordsman turned his head to see who was calling out his name. He only noticed that it was the girl, Priscilla. She was smiling as she hurried over to him. Cloud noticed something though. Her arm was wrapped up as if she was hurt and she was limping a little. The blonde quickly turned Fenrir off and kicked the kickstand down.

"Cloud! I can't believe it's you! It's so great to see you again!" The girl said happily as she stopped in front of him.

Rufus only rose an eyebrow as he watched the girl jump up and hug Cloud. He smirked after seeing the uneasy look in his rival's eyes, who glared at him as soon as he saw the smirk. "Um, it's nice to see you too, Priscilla. But can you please get off of me?"

The girl backed away, giggling. "Sorry, Cloud. I'm just so happy you're here!" She then frowned. "Are you going to go after the monsters that killed everyone?"

Cloud shrugged. "Well, I guess you can say that. I'm going after the person that sent those creatures. They'll pay for what they did."

Priscilla nodded with a smile. "I hope so." She then frowned with a sad sigh. "I just feel so bad for Lex. For losing Mr. Tomoe like that."

Cloud and Rufus glanced at one another before looking back at her. "Lex? Who's that?" They both asked.

Priscilla smiled. "He's a great friend of mine. He's going after the monsters too! I think he's on the ship right now. You should meet him. He's really nice. He tried to stop the monsters from killing everyone. In fact, he killed all of those monsters." She said pointing off to the side.

Cloud and Rufus looked over to see the pile of the ugly monsters and a few that Cloud recognized right away. His eyes lit up in surprise. "Oh my god." he climbed off the bike and hurried over to the pile.

Rufus quickly joined him with Priscilla. "Cloud? What is it?" The Ex-President asked as he bent down beside him.

Cloud didn't look up as he looked the monster over. He knew it very well, though he hadn't seen it for years now. It was one of the monsters from the Nibelheim reactor. The ones that Hojo had been creating. "These...I've seen them before."

Rufus gave him a sharp and surprised look. "What? What do you mean, you've seen them before."

Cloud shook his head as he examined the monster. "I've seen them in the Nibelheim reactor, several years ago. When Sephiroth was still alive and when I was still with Shinra Inc. These creatures were being produced in the Reactor. It was Professor Hojo who created them. They were supposingly Sephiroth Clones."

Both Rufus and Priscilla looked suprised.

"What?! You mean these monsters...they're just like those three from..." Rufus was asking.

Cloud shook his head at Rufus's questioin. "No and yes. Yes, because they are Sephiroth Clones. No because they never evolved into what they were suppose to be. They just turned into monsters. These monsters in fact. But..." He looked down at the monster in confusion. "Why they're still alive, I don't know."

Rufus looked at him. "What do you mean?"

The blonde swordsman shook his head as he just studied the monster. "Sephiroth, Zack and I destroyed these monsters when we were in Nibelheim. We destroyed every single on, not leaving any behind." He told him.

The Ex-President shook his head as he looked down at the monsters. "Looks like you missed some."

Cloud shook his head. "Maybe. But not in the Nibelheim Reactor. We destroyed them all. I am not joking. We literately destroyed them. Made sure that they were all burned to ashes." He rubbed his chin. "There might have been some of these in the other reactors as well. But I don't ever remember seeing them."

"That's because they were hidden somewhere inside the reactors."

All three, Cloud, Rufus and Marlene spun around when they heard the voice. The blondes were stunned when they saw who the owner was. But Priscilla smiled brightly. "Lex! You're still here!" She said merrily.

Though Cloud and Rufus did not share her enthusiasm. "YOU!" They both said at the same time. They were looking at none other than the Sephiroth clone brother, Yazoo.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yea! More reviews! I'm so happy! Anyway, quick shout out before we just jump right to the chapter.**

**bang on the head: Thank you very much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I really am enjoying writing it. As for Cloud and Rufus killing Yazoo...well, you'll just have to see for yourself in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chaxra-san: hehehehe. I'm afraid there's going to be quite a lot of cliffhangers in this story. Sorry, but it's really fun leaving the story in suspense. But you'll find out what happens in the next chapter. And I promise, it'll be quite interesting. Enjoy!**

**IluvUs: lol. I guess it kind of a Star Wars moment right there. Actually, the reason that Eden could sense it was because of Phoenix. Phoenix is really intuned with life on the Planet, after all, she is the Demon of Life and Death. Of course, I probably shouldn't have said that. All well. But anyway, because Phoenix sensed it, Eden did. Anyway, enjoy!**

**All righty then, lets go on with the show!

* * *

****Chapter VIII:**

The entire town of Gongonga were standing outside the town, looking at the strange monsters that the silver haired man had killed. He had killed more than half, with Laura still in his arms. The others fled when he had killed the leader of the pack. It was only luck that no one was seriously injured.

Jeri was watching Laura and her brother hug one another with a faint smile on his face. He was just so happy that Laura was okay.

The inn keeper turned to Jeri, giving him a thankful smile. "Thank you so much, Jeri. I owe you every thing."

Jeri shook his head as he smiled down at Laura. "Nah. You don't owe me anything. I love this kid. I couldn't let her get hurt." He then frowned as he looked at a few of the dead monsters. The other men did the same. "What are those things? Why did they attacked Laura?"  
The mayor of Gongonga shook his head. "They attacked because they're monsters. But what they are, I'm not sure."

"They're evolved forms of the Nibel wolf, ladies and gentlemen. And that girl of yours was lucky enough that she wasn't killed." someone replied.

Everyone turned around to see a man leaning against a tree. No one had noticed him before but now that they did, none of them could figure out who he was. It was clear that he was a stranger in these parts.

He was quite tall and handsome. He had shoulder length brown hair and light brown eyes. There were tiny hairs on his chin as if he hadn't shaved for a week. He had this western sort of look about him. He was wearing a beige long sleeve shirt under a brown leather vest with strange symbols on the front. His pants were dark brown, falling over his dark brown leather boots. On his right hand he had two rings and the other, he wore a silver ring on his middle finger. He wasn't looking too happy about something but then again, he had this sort of friendly look in his eyes. And he was looking directly at Jeri.

"You're a new face around here. Who are you, sir?" The inn keeper asked.

The man turned his eyes onto the man before looking at Laura. "You all right, sweet heart?"

Laura cringed away looking a little afraid. Jeri didn't like seeing her afraid so he quickly went over and stood in front of the man to block his view. The man only looked him directly in the eye, looking very alert. He had even straightened a little. "He just asked you a question so you better answer." Jeri said in such away that it was clear that there might be a fight.

The man didn't show any fear whatsoever. He just tossed his long bangs out of his eyes and nodded. "What if I don't tell you my name, Sephiroth clone? What are you going to do?"

Jeri's eyes lit up a little in surprise. He stepped back looking uneasy. Everyone else looked confused but alert. They had heard of Sephiroth clones, of course. But they had never seen one. Their Jeri couldn't have been one, could he?

"You know who I am?" Jeri asked in surprise.

The man lowered his head a little but kept his eyes onto the silver haired man. "I don't know your name but I know what you are. And we have seen one another before. You don't remember me though. I know that for sure."

The silver haired man just looked confused. "What are you talking about?" He demanded.

The man blew out sigh before shaking his head. "The name's Kahn. Rigal Kahn. I know what you are because I know the man who created you."

Jeri frowned as he looked at the townspeople in confusion, who looked back. "I don't understand."

"You don't need to. You remember who you are. You know what you are. Why play charades?" The man then shook his head before he glanced at the townspeople. "I would like a private word with you. Just you."

Jeri just stared at him before he slowly nodded. "All right. This way." He said walking away from the townspeople.  
Rigal just looked at the others before shaking his head. "Don't worry. We'll only be a minute." He promised then followed the silver haired man.

The two of them walked a safe distance from the townspeople before facing one another. "All right, who are you and what do you know about me?" Jeri asked. Rigal shook his head as he leaned against a tree. "I already told you who I was. My name is Rigal Kahn. And I don't know very much only that you're a Sephiroth clone. How do I know? Because you look like Sephiroth. You have silver hair and freaky eyes like him. Plus I know a little bit about science and how you were created. Do you remember anything about yourself?"

Jeri lowered his head a little before turning away. He sighed as he gave a nod. "I do. And I'm not exactly thrilled about what I am and what I did a year ago. My real name is Loz."

Rigal nodded. "I know. I've heard of what you and your brothers did in Neo Midgar. We've been keeping our eyes on you for a while now."

Loz turned around giving him a questioning look. "What do you mean 'we'? Who's we?" He asked in a grumpy way.

Rigal shook his head. "Myself and the man that I am guarding. I can't tell you about him because if I do, they will know. And they will go after him. He's in danger every where he goes. He must hide from them. And since you are Sephiroth clone, he must hide from you as well. You are an enemy. I should kill you right now just for his protection." He held up a hand when Loz's face darkened and he started to get into a fighting stance. "Unfortunately, I know I'm no match for you. I may be a skilled fighter but you are a Sephiroth clone."

Loz continued to glare at him. "What do you want then? And stop calling me a Sephiroth clone! I am not a clone! I am a person!" He growled.

Rigal shook his head as he folded his arms. "I don't want anything from you. I just want you to stay away from my friend. If you try to harm him, I will kill you. I might die doing it but I will kill you." He warned. "So if you're smart, you won't listen to the woman who just spoke to you if she speaks to you again." He then turned to start walking a way.

"Wait!" Loz called after him. Rigal stopped and looked back at him, seriously. They just stared at one another, almost staring each other down.

"Do you know who that woman was? The one who sent the monsters and spoke to me?" Loz asked.

Rigal was quiet for a long time before he shook his head. "No. I don't know who she is. And I don't know who's working for her. It's just a man who created the monsters that attacked you and the girl. And if you are smart, you would stay away from them. They'll only use you." He turned back around to leave.

"Do you know what's going on? Why those monsters attacked? Why so many are suddenly appearing?" Loz called again.

Rigal stopped once again, staying in silence then he turned back around. "Do you really want to know?"

Loz nodded. "Yes."

Rigal was quiet again before he nodded. "If I take you with me, you have to promise you will not try to harm my employer. And if the woman starts to speak to you again, demanding you to kill him, you have to kill yourself. Or I will do it. For this man is very important. He might be the only one who can stop the Calamaty from the Skies. At least...at least we hope so."

Loz tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

Rigal just stared at him before shaking his head. "You obviously have no idea. Very well. I will take you with me. That way, you will learn something that might change you what you are. Prepare yourself then. We have a long journey before us."

Loz slowly nodded. They both went back to town.

The townspeople weren't exactly happy to hear that he was leaving but he really insisted that he must. The elderly couple were extremely sad to see him go.

"I will be back. I promise. When I do come back, I will help with the reactor." Loz promised.

The people only smiled. "We hope so, Jeri."

Loz bent down in front of his dog and Laura. "Bear, you stay here and guard these people. They need you." he said patting his dog on the head. The large bloodhound only whinned sadly.

Laura shook her head. "But, Jeri! You can't leave him! You need him!"

Loz shook his head as he smiled at her. "I do but right now you need him the most. He can guard you from those monsters."

"They're not coming back here. At least not for a while." Rigal spoke up.

The mayor of the town nodded. "In that case, Jeri, please take Bear with you. The animal will only be miserable without you."

Loz looked around at everyone before smiling. "All right." He stood up straight and patted his thigh. "Come on, Bear. Let's go."

The dog gave a happy bark and bound after him. The two men just stared at the townspeople. "You come back to us safe and sound, ya hear, Jeri? We won't ever forgive you if you hurt yourself." The old woman said. Loz only grinned stupidly at her. "Don't you worry, Mrs. F. I'll be just fine. I promise." Everyone nodded. The silver haired man then looked at Rigal. "Well, lead the way, Kahn." He said. Rigal nodded and started walking. Their journey together was about to begin.

* * *

"YOU?!" They exclaimed again as they jumped back, grabbing for their weapons. The silver haired man just stood firmly, his arms folded over his chest as his cat like eyes just looked the two blondes over. He let his long silver bangs fall over them again. "I see you remember me. Not that you could ever forget." Yazoo said calmly.

Cloud yanked out his sword and started to charge but Priscilla jumped in the way. "Don't you dare hurt him! Don't fight!" She cried out.

The blonde only looked at her before glaring back at the tall silver haired man, who gave Priscilla a sad smile. "Priscilla, please move aside." He said quietly. That seemed to surprise the two blondes greatly.

Priscilla looked up at him painfully. "Lex..."

Yazoo just stepped to the side and then forward, past her. He kept his arms folded over his chest. "Hello, brother. I see we meet again. Though I wasn't exactly expecting it." He said quietly.

Cloud saw Rufus glance at him questionably but he didn't say anything about it. "Don't call me your brother, Yazoo. I'm not your damn brother. And you should be dead." He said in a deadly tone.

Yazoo slowly nodded. "That's right. I should be. But for some reason I'm not. And I'm not going to die. Not until I find out who sent those beasts that killed Mr. Tomoe and these people. Until, killing me would have to wait."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at him. "What the hell are you doing alive anyway? We killed you."

Yazoo just looked him in the eye. He was quiet for a minute before he nodded. "Yes. You did kill me. I don't know why I'm alive and for what reason. But it's certainly not to do what my brothers and I were doing before. I believe my brothers are alive as well."

Cloud swore under his breath. "Like I wanted to kill you guys again."

"Then don't. Because we're not here to kill you or anyone else." Yazoo said.

Rufus tilted his head as he leveled his shotgun with him. "Then why are you here? You here for your _mother_ again. Well, guess what, loser. We destroyed that stinking head of her's. So you can stop looking."

Yazoo gave him a cold look. "We're not here for her. I couldn't care less about mother anymore. Not in this life. I've been granted a second life, all right? I plan spending it wisely. And getting killed by you two is not what I had in mind." He tilted his head to look at Cloud. "I am looking for source of those monsters that came here and you are not going to get in my way. I have to kill those creatures for killing Mr. Tomoe and these people."

Cloud and Rufus glanced at one another. "Who's Mr. Tomoe?" They both asked.

Priscilla stepped forward this time. "He was the town's representive. And Lex's adopted father. Or that's what we called him. He took Lex in when we found him on the beach." She then shook her head. "Cloud, you have to believe me. Lex is not bad. You can't hurt him."

Cloud looked at her. "Who in the hell is Lex?"

Yazoo gave him a nod. "I am. That's what Junon called me when I came. You see, when I came them I didn't remember who I was. I didn't remember a thing. These people cared for me, showed me what good is." He shook his head. "I have to find those monsters to pay them back. I have to find the person who sent them here. I know that it was a someone. And I will find out. And when I do, they will die. They killed the people that cared for me and they will pay for it."

There was a long silence between the three men before Cloud slowly lowered his sword. Rufus only glanced at him before doing the same. "Let me get one thing straight with you, Yazoo. You try anything to harm us, turn against us in any way, I will kill you. Do you understand?" Cloud asked seriously.

Yazoo tilted his head and rose an eyebrow. "You're going with me?"

"No. We're going in the same direction as you. We're looking for the source of the monsters too. So apparently, we're after the same person. And I want to keep an eye on you to make sure you're not lying to us." Cloud said in a way that could have made the silver haired man lose his temper.

Yazoo was quiet for a long time before he turned around. There was the blast of the ship's horn, warning everyone it was going to leave soon. He then looked back at Cloud. "Fine. Do as you will. But I'm leaving now." He bent down and grabbed the bag at his feet then went towards the ship.

Cloud and Rufus looked at one another before kicking their bikes alive and followed him.

The two blondes looked back at Junon Harbor as the ship started to depart. They could see a lot of people on the shore waving them off. At least, they were waving at them but was also waving at Yazoo, who stood several feet away from them. A very sad look on his face.

"I don't trust him, Cloud." Rufus whispered to his companion.

Cloud only glanced in Yazoo's direction before shaking his head. "Neither do I. But we can't do anything unless he does something first. And I want to see if he really means what he just said."

Rufus nodded at what he said. "I see your point." He looked back at Yazoo, who was glancing sidewards at them.

Neither one of the blondes were sure if he had heard what they said. If he had, he didn't show that he did. He only looked back towards Junon Harbor with a deep sigh then he turned and headed straight towards the cabins.

Cloud and Rufus only watched him, silently before looking at one another. "He doesn't look too happy, does he?" The Ex-President asked.

Cloud tilted his head as he watched Yazoo walk off then he shook his head. "It's either the fact that we're pretty much travelling with him or what he just said is true. He cared for the people of Junon. The only way of finding out is keeping an eye on him."

Rufus nodded as he started towards the cabin. "I need rest. It's been a hard day for me. You should rest too, Cloud. You need it."

Cloud sighed and shook his head. "Right at the moment, I can't do that. I've got..." He paused when he noticed something hovering across the ocean. "What?" His eyes lit up. "Cid." He muttered.

Rufus turned around and looked at what he was looking at. His eyes lit seeing the airship, Shera. "The airship. What's it doing out this way? I thought it was back in Rocket Town."

Cloud frowned as he cupped his chin, looking thoughtful. He could feel something weird though. He kept getting a bad feeling. Like something had happened. By the looks of it, it had come from the direction of Midgar. He wondered why Cid was there. He decided he would figure it out later. Right now, he wanted to keep his mind on Yazoo. He did not want to get caught off guard and let the silver haired maniac attack him or Shinra. He remembered the last time he tried fighting Yazoo and it was not easy at all.

* * *

Tifa stared out the window with a sad look on her face. She still couldn't get through to Cloud. She kept getting his voice mail so she left another message. She hoped that he and Rufus Shinra were okay. She hoped that nothing had happened to them. 

"Hey, Tifa. Where do you suppose Cloud is?" Cid called from the pilot seat.

Tifa looked up at him before shaking her head. "I don't know. He couldn't have possibly gotten too far because he only left yesterday. We should be able to see him and Rufus."

Cid looked back out the large window. "Well, we can't see him."

Tifa cracked a smile as she looked over at him before looking back out the window.

Aeris, however, was staring towards Junon Harbor. She had a strange look on her face, as if she was feeling pain. She frowned as she just stared off. She looked quite surprised now. Though the expression did not go un-noticed. Reno had noticed. "Hey, you all right?"

Everyone looked at the flower girl, who looked like she was in pain. Tifa hurried over, touching her shoulder. "Aeris?"

Aeris looked at her. "Tifa." She whispered.

Tifa looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

Aeris shook her head as she just looked at Junon Harbor. "Suffering and pain. A lot of people have just died. The Planet just told me so."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. "What?" Nanaki asked as he stepped forward.

"What the &$$& do you mean a lot of people had just died?!" Cid asked.

Aeris shook her head as she pointed towards Junon Harbor. Everyone was surprised to see the smoke rising from the fires in the town.

"Oh my! I wonder what happened!" Tifa gasped.

Reno stepped closer to the window, looking down at the town. His eyes narrowed a little as he just looked. "Whatever it is, looks like the people of Junon are taking care of it. I can still a lot of people down there." He said. Everyone nodded as they just looked down.

Just then the door opened and in walked Rude. But he wasn't alone. "Ow! Rude, let go!"

Everyone spun around when they heard that voice. Tifa clapped a hand over her mouth as she looked at Denzel with surprise. "Denzel! What are you doing here?!" She gasped.

The young boy yanked away from the Turk, giving him a forlorn look. Rude just folded his hands in front of him. "I found him hiding behind a door. Looks like he might have climbed one of those damn chains hanging from under the ship."

Cid huffed. "Hey, hey! Watch it, bud! Those damn chains are apart of my ship. So watch what you say about my baby!" He warned.

Rude only ignored him, as did everyone else. Tifa just walked forward, scowling down at the young boy. She placed her hands on her hips and just stared down at him. "Denzel, what are you doing here? Why didn't you stay home?"

Denzel finally looked up at her, with tears in his eyes. "Because I didn't want to stay home, Tifa! I want to help! Marlene's my best friend! I couldn't just sit there and what for her to die!" He cried. No one spoke for a moment. They all knew how Denzel was feeling. They felt the same. They all knew how he felt about Marlene. She was his best friend.

"Denzel, it's just too dangerous for you to be here. We have to take you back home." Tifa said.

Denzel shook his head. "No. Tifa, I don't want to go home. Please don't make me. I want to help."

Tifa looked at the others. Cid just shrugged as he put a toothpick in his mouth and started chewing on the end. Reno and Rude both just rubbed their necks, not wanting to even answer the question they knew Tifa was asking. Red XIII just sat down on his hindquarters. "There's not much what you can do, Denzel. You would be in danger if we ran into enemies."

Denzel lowered his head with a sigh. But Aeris stepped forward and gently touched his chin to make him look up. "Denzel, they're right. But you're right too."  
Everyone just looked at her. Aeris looked up at Tifa. "Tifa, let him come. Since we're already out here. There's no point turning back now."

Denzel's face brightened as a faint smile appeared on his face. Tifa looked at him, making his smile vanish again. But she heaved a sigh and faintly smile. "All right. I just hope I'm not going to regret it." Denzel looked like he was going to really celebrate right about now. "But, you are going to stay on the airship if we run into trouble. And, you are going to stick by Reno and Rude."

The world pretty came crashing down on Denzel as he looked up at Tifa with a look that said "NO FAIR!!"

Tifa only folded her arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "You have a problem with that, Denzel?" She asked in a tone that clearly dared him to argue.

Denzel pouted as he lowered his head and shook it. "No." He muttered.

Tifa then turned to Reno. "Do you guys have a problem with watching over him?"

"Nope." The Turks both said. But that was because they knew that if they argued with her, Cid would probably throw them off the airship.

Tifa nodded. "Good." She turned towards Cid. "Cid, full speed ahead. We're going to get Barret. While keeping an eye out for that man and Marlene."

Cid saluted her with a grin. "Yes, ma-am!" And then he kicked the ship into full speed.

* * *

"So tell me again what you're looking for?" She asked for the fifth time. For the past hour, Yuffie had been yakking Eden and Jake's ears off, asking them questions about where they were going and what they were looking for. Of course, she knew if she did it there would be two results. One, Eden Black might just kill her to shut her up. Or they might get tired of listening to her and just answer the questions just to shut her up.

However, Jake didn't seem to mind the talking. He would just smile and talk right back. Though he knew it was probably annoying Eden even more.

"We don't know what we're looking for. We're just hoping if we travel around, it'll come to us. That usually happens with explorers." He said with a smile.

Yuffie crinkled her nose. "Wow, you guys really are lost. You know that, right?"

Jake only laughed as he shook his head. "What're you looking for?" He heard Eden groan with frustration as she picked up her pace and he winced. "Sorry, Eden. But I'm so bored. We haven't run into any monsters like forever and talking seems to be only entertainment."

Eden turned her head a little to look over her shoulder. "I don't care if you talk to her, Jake. Do whatever you want. But just keep me out of it."

Yuffie frowned as she looked after the red haired warrioress. "Jeeze, don't you know how to be a little more open." She asked sarcastically.

Eden finally had enough of it. She turned around shooting the young girl a look. "Look, Yuffie. I'm allowing you to travel with us just to give Jake something to do besides trying to pry into my affairs. And the last thing I need is you doing it too. So butt out!" She said sharply. She suddenly felt a very warm, almost hot sensation rolling over her. She straightened when it happened.

**'Eden Black, stop that right now. Give them a chance.' **A soft voice spoke up inside her. She looked away from Jake and Yuffie with a sigh of remorse. **'They're your companions and they just want to get know you.'**

Eden turned around and started walking again. 'Well I don't want them to get to know me. Every time someone gets to know me, something always happens. And it's never good.' She thought back to the demon.

**'Eden, must you always blame yourself? This has something to do with that year, doesn't it? The year where I freed us both. These people are not like those. You should know that about Jake now. He's been your friend since that first fight with the unusual monsters. And I'm sure Yuffie wants to be your friend too.'**

The warrioress rolled her eyes as she folded her arms. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jake and Yuffie now talking in whispers to one another. Probably just trying to not to piss her off again.

'The ninja girl just wants my materia. I know of her. And so do you.' She felt a push against her from inside as if Phoenix was only nudging her.

**'Goodness sakes, child. Then give her one. Like the white one that doesn't even work. She won't be able to use it.' **

"No, Phoenix. I'm not giving that one to her. Forget it. It's special and you know it. You even told me so." Eden muttered. She didn't even realize that she spoke out. She blinked a few times before looking back at Jake and Yuffie who were now watching her. The ninja theif was looking at her as if she was crazy but Jake looked concerned. "Eden? What's wrong? You talking Phoenix?"

Eden shot him a scolding look. "Jake." She scowled.

Jake frowned right back at her. "Eden, for god's sake. She's going to find out sooner or later, anyway."

Yuffie tilted her head. "What're you talking about? Why's she talking to herself anyway? Who's Phoenix?"

Eden looked away with a scowl. Jake shook his head before looking at Yuffie.

"Eden's got a demon inside her. I don't know how she got it and I don't care. The Phoenix demon is a good demon though. She's all cool. Pretty helpful too." He informed her.

Yuffie looked at Eden with awe. There was something familiar shining in her eyes. As if she wasn't surprised that much. "You mean, you have a demon too?!" She gasped.

Both Eden and Jake looked at her in surprise. "What?" They both asked.

Yuffie didn't exactly answer. She just smiled. "That's is so cool!" She then frowned. "I just hope this Phoenix isn't anything like Chaos. He's such a prick."

Jake tilted his head. "Do...do you have..." He was saying.

The ninja gave him a 'gag me' look. "Hello no! I'd kill myself if I had some friggen creature in my head. Like I want to be sharing my thoughts with someone else than myself. I'm talking about Vincent. He's got four demons actually. He's just like her. He's too quiet, he hates talking about himself and he can be a big meanie when he wants to."

Eden didn't look impressed at the similarities Yuffie gave her. But she did look interested about this Vincent guy. "Who is this Vincent? He wouldn't happen to be Vincent Valentine, would he?"

Yuffie nodded folding her arms. "Yeah, that's him, all right. He's a real pain if you ask me. Always going around saying that he has so many sins on his shoulders and that he's being punished. Blah, blah, blah. It gets so annoying when he's moping around, you know?"

Jake looked at Eden. "Eden, do you know Vincent Valentine? You look like you know him."

Eden looked back at him and shook her head. "No. I don't personally know him. Just like Cloud Strife, I've heard of him. But the man that I heard about him from wasn't exactly one that I liked to listen to."

Yuffie folded her arms. "Oh yeah? Who's that?"

Eden only turned away, as if she wasn't going to answer. Both Jake and Yuffie sighed shaking their heads.

"Professor Hojo of Shinra Inc."

And then she walked on. Both Jake and Yuffie looked surprised to hear what she just said. She had actually answered a question. But what surprised them more, was the fact that she knew a dead man.

"You knew Hojo?" Yuffie asked as she jogged up to Eden's side.

Eden only glanced at her before looking forward again. "Unfortunately." Was the only answer she gave.

"But...how? How did you know him?" Yuffie asked again.

Eden sighed as she tried to hold in her temper. "If I don't tell you, you aren't going to shut up about it, are you?"

The ninja stuck her nose up into the air and shook her head. "Nope. Believe me when I say this, I can go on for hours on end."

Eden rolled her eyes as she folded her arms. "I believe you."

"Hey!"

Jake laughed as she joined Eden's other side. "Come on, Eden. Just tell us. How do you know Hojo anyway?"

Eden gave him a look before continuing walking. "I was his science experiment one time. When I was very young. A very small girl. He had Sephiroth kidnap me from a small village near Wutai. Well, he wasn't the only one. It was all of Shinra Inc. That no good son of a bitch President Shinra as well." She sighed shaking her head as she ran her fingers through her red hair. "My hair used to be pitch black before the operation. And my eyes were not purple. They were green." Both Jake and Yuffie listened with interest. Eden only glanced at them before shaking her head. "In the end, Hojo tried to kill me and I escaped. I'm dead to the world and that's that. Nothing special."

"So that's how you got Phoenix." Jake said in wonder.

Eden only nodded as she began crossing a river. "Yeah. No big deal."

Yuffie tilted her head. "So you're really from Wutai? Like me?"

Eden shook her head. "So I was told. But I don't have any memories of the village. I was too young. So drop it now. I'm done talking about it."

Yuffie frowned. "Well, I'm not. You do know that Hojo's dead, right?"

Eden nodded as her eyes narrowed from agitation. "Yes, Yuffie. I do know. I've heard the news like everyone else in the world. You and your friends killed him."

Yuffie shook her head. "No, I didn't kill him. I wanted to but it wasn't my place. I just watched him die. Vincent killed him. He had the right so Cloud let him shoot him dead."

Eden tilted her head to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Vincent knew Hojo too. He used to work for him." Yuffie said. Eden stopped again and looked right at her. "But don't worry. Vincent hated him because he did experiments on him too. And killed his girlfriend or something like that. He's just like you, Eden. Would you like to meet him sometime?"

Eden turned and started walking again. "I don't care. Let's move. It'll be getting dark soon." And they continued on their way.

* * *

She had never been so scared in her life and there was times that she was. She was with a man who was clearly insane because once they were out of the city, the man started to argue with himself about leaving Tifa alive. Marlene watched the man tossing sticks into the fire with tears running down her cheeks. Her hands were bound together as were her feet. But that was because she had already tried to run away. She could still feel the sting of the slap the man had given her when he caught her again.

Marlene sighed as she lowered her head into her knees, her bound hands over head as she started to cry again.

"You're crying again? My god, what a baby." The man muttered as he sat back against a log.

Marlene looked up, giving him a dark look. "I'm not a baby! You're just a meanie! Wait till Cloud gets here! He's going to kill you! Tifa's going to get him right now! When she tells him that you hurt her and took me, he's going to come after you!"  
She gasped when there was a flash of metal and she found the man kneeling above her with his serated blade close to her neck. A cruel smirk on his face as he glared into her frightened brown eyes.

"Let me tell you something about your hero, Cloud Strife, little one." He said coldly. "He's going to die. Painfully and slowly, by me. When the time comes, you're going to see how great that little chocobo head is. And that's not great at all." He hissed at her.

Marlene only glanced down at the blade near her throat before lifting her chin higher. "If you kill me, I'll only go to the Lifestream! And I'll watch Cloud kill you from there!" she said bravely.

The man's face darkened before he pulled the blade away from her throat and slammed it into the log behind her. She only flinched from the attack.

"If you were smart, little girl, you'd shut up. I'm not allowed to kill you so I won't. But my employer said nothing about hurting you. So if you don't shut that little trap of yours, I will cut out your tongue." He threatened before yanking the blade out of the log and going back to the log where he laid down his sleeping mat.

Marlene shivered from fear as she watched him. She sniffed a few times before burying her face into her arms again. "Cloud's going to kill you. I hope he does." She whimpered.

There was an outraged cry and she looked up to see the man had turned around and started to swing his sword again. She gasped as she dropped down to the ground and covered her head. She just waited for the slashing but it didn't come. Instead, nothing came.

"Don't do it, Drake. The employer said not to." She heard the man whispered. She looked up to see him glaring down at her but he seemed to struggling with himself. He growled at himself looking off to the side as if he was looking at someone. "Shut up. This little rat is driving me nuts." He hissed.  
He turned his head the other way, as if looking at another person. "Yeah, she's driving me nuts too. I would love to let you kill her but she's needed by the Professor and the lady. They'll only kill us if we harm her."

Now she was really scared. This guy clearly had some major problems. And she remembered what her papa had told her about crazy people. They were dangerous and it was better not to provoke them. She curled up under his rage, looking very frightened.

The man, Drake, just gave her a look of warning before going back to his sleeping mat and laying down.

There was a long silence before Marlene sat up again. She just watched Drake glare up at the stars. "Do you know Cloud?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

The man groaned as he rolled over. "Do you know how to shut up?" He asked roughly.

Marlene frowned before looking away. "Cloud...papa..." She whispered.

Drake only glanced over his shoulder, frowning softly before grumbling and tried to go to sleep.


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reviewing and sorry for making you wait for a little while. My computer was down for a little while so I didn't have access to the internet for a week. But I'm back and ready for more action. Are you? Anyway, here's some quick shout outs.**

**AznPuffyHair: Interesting name you have there. Yes, there's quite a few people back...but I won't exactly say who some of them are. And, I'm afraid I never played Dirge of Cerberus so I'm not exactly sure what happened in that game. So this story probably has nothing to do with DOC. Sorry. But I am trying really hard to get a hold of that game so I can find out what happens in it. Anyway, enjoy!**

**IluvAUs: hehehehe. Yes, Yuffie does intend to blabber a lot, doesn't she? And believe me, she's not about to stop. Anyway, we'll just have to see what happens. And seriously, I agree with you. Vincent and Eden would get along sooooo well. Enjoy. **

**linx79: Thank you. Cloud does have quite the important role, as always. But so does a few others. And I will admit it right now, so does Rufus Shinra. But I won't even go there until later. You'll just have to wait. **

**Anyway...ON WITH THE STORY!! hehehe.

* * *

****Chapter IX:**

Cloud stared off over the horizen, at the dark water below the ship. The stars were shining on the water's surface like diamonds. The moon was even brighter and it was just a pretty night. Thoughts were running through Cloud's mind. He was trying to think things through about what was going on. Who in the world created such monsters like the ones he and Rufus fought at the ranch? And who had sent those men to kill him before the whole thing even started? And most of all, who was the man who tried to kill Reno for picking up the bomb? He had to know. And he knew once he found out, he was going to make sure they never saw the light of day again.

"You couldn't sleep as well, brother?"

The blonde's head jerked to the side when he heard Yazoo's voice. His hand quickly found one of his swords's handle. But the silver haired man didn't attack at all. He just walked up and looked towards the horizen. His silver bangs fell over his cat like eyes. "I couldn't sleep either. I can't seem to get Mr. Tomoe's death out of my mind." The silver haired youth whispered.

Cloud just watched him suspiciously before he let go of the handle and he just stepped away from Yazoo.

There was a long silence between the two before Yazoo looked at him. "Is there...something you would like to ask, brother?"

Cloud's eyes narrowed at the title. "Stop calling me that. I'm not your brother." He said sharply.

Yazoo looked away as a moody look appeared on his face. "Forgive me then, Cloud. I was just told that you were, all right? So don't get angry with me." He said just as harshly.

Cloud glared at him. "Angry? Is that what you think I am?" He shook his head. "No, I'm not angry. I'm pissed. It's the fact that you are alive when you should be dead. You tried to kill everyone and bring a nightmare back to the Planet. Well guess what?! You succeeded. He's back anyway. So I've heard." He said as he turned away.

Yazoo looked at him in surprise. "What?"

Cloud turned his head to the side. "Sephiroth is alive. A little girl said she saw him. Congradulations. Now I have to try and kill him again. Not to mention, I have to try and kill you and those other two again before you pull something."

Yazoo frowned at his back. "I already told you. My fight is not with you again. My fight is with the ones who destroyed Junon Harbor."

Cloud turned back around, giving him a look. "Another thing. About that whole Junon Harbor. How do I know that you weren't actually behind those attacks?"

Yazoo glared at him fiercely. "I can't make you trust me. And what I say wouldn't make a difference to you because you don't believe me. But I actually loved those people, Cloud Strife. They gave me a chance. They showed me what it was like to have a family. To be friends with people. And not be different like I thought I was before you killed me and Loz. Or killed Kadaj." He turned his head away and glared at the water. "And then this whole thing happened. The man who treated me like a son was killed by a monster. And I will find out who sent them. And when I do, they will die for everything they've done." He turned his fierce glare onto Cloud, who was glaring right back at him. "What Kadaj, Loz and I did, that was wrong, I know that now. But I am trying to make it up by going after this person, this woman who is a threat." He then turned and started to walk away.

"Woman? What woman?" Cloud asked quietly, as he stepped after him.

Yazoo stopped in his footsteps, just standing there. He was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "The woman who spoke to me. Who cursed me and sent those monsters. Now if you will excuse me, I am tired. I need rest." He then walked away.

Cloud just stood there, with a confused look on his face. He just watched Yazoo walk back to the cabins before he turned back to the railing. A deep thoughtful look on his face as he let the words roll around in his mind. What woman was Yazoo talking about? He was confused now. He didn't know what to make of anything. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. There was only one way of finding out. Find the man, Dr. Ryuu and see what he knew.

The sun slowly rose over the water's edge, just as the ship pulled into the docks. Cloud was making sure Fenrir was in good shape before heading out. He was also waiting for Rufus to show up. Yazoo was already up and was cleaning his gunblade he had taken from Junon. He ignored the looks he was getting from some of the sailors.

Finally, Rufus showed up. He walked over to Cloud, his face a little grave. As if something was wrong. Cloud seemed to sense it right away because he immediately stood up and faced Shinra. "What is it?" Yazoo looked up when he heard Cloud speak up like that.

Rufus only glanced at him before looking back at Cloud. "Has Tifa contacted you at all?"

Cloud frowned before he reached at his belt and pulled out his phone looking at the screen. His eyes lit up a little to see a blank screen. He pressed a few buttons but it wasn't working. He groaned as he flipped it shut. "Damn it. The power must have died on me." He then looked at Rufus, suspiciously. "Why did you ask anyway?"

Rufus sighed before shaking his head. "I just got done talking to Tseng, seeing how things were going with them. Something bad has happened, Cloud. And I think Tifa's been trying to contact you."

Cloud was practically glaring at him now. "Are you going to tell me what happened or not?" He asked in a moody way.

Rufus sighed as he shook his head. "Cloud, Marlene's been kidnapped by a man, who also nearly killed Tifa."

Cloud's eyes snapped wide open and he stepped back with shock. "What?!" He exclaimed.

Yazoo stood up when he heard what Rufus said. The Ex-President shook his head. "I'm not sure of all the details but apparently yesterday a man attacked Tifa at the Seventh Heaven and took Marlene. Tifa is with Cid Highwind on his airship, along with Reno and Rude. There's another person with them but Tseng wouldn't say who it was. They're going after the attacker and Marlene."

Cloud looked off towards the sky again. "So that's why Cid was out here." He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "Damn it! I knew something was going to happen! I just knew it! We shouldn't have left!" He yelled as he slammed his fist onto the railing.

Rufus hurried forward, grabbing his shoulder. "Cloud, we left to find out about those monsters and to find Dr. Ryuu. We didn't know this would happen. So calm down."

Cloud yanked away from him and was going to say something but Yazoo stepped forward. "Did they say who took the girl?" He asked calmly.

Cloud shot him a look. "Why do you care?!" He snapped.

Yazoo gave him a reproachful look but didn't say anything. Rufus only shook his head as he looked at Cloud. "From what I learned from Tseng, a man who knew you took her. He said that if we want the real details, we have to find Tifa and find out from her."

Cloud shook his head as he turned to him and held out his hand. "Let me see your phone, Rufus. I'll find out right now." Rufus nodded as he dug into his pocket and gave it to Cloud. The blonde quickly punched in a number then held it to his ear. After a few rings, someone answered.

**"Hello, Tifa speaking." **

"Tifa! It's Cloud! What happened at the Seventh Heaven?!" Cloud asked as soon as she answered.

**"Cloud! Thank goodness you called! I've been trying to get a hold of you all night!"**

Cloud shook his head as he leaned against the railing. "My phone's power died on me. It needs to be charged. But that's not important right now. I'm using Rufus's phone. He just told me he spoke to Tseng and he told me about Marlene. What happened?" He asked in a hurried tone. He heard a sad sigh from Tifa.

**"Cloud, I don't know what happened! It happened so fast!" **

She then explained everything that had happened in the bar. About how Marlene and Denzel stayed home from school, then the explosion in Kalm, making Reno and Rude having to run out to the town to see what happened. Then she told Cloud about how the man had entered the bar and how she recognized his voice from the man who sent the bomb. She told him what he looked like and how he threatened her for Marlene. She didn't leave anything out about the fight. She even told him about how the Turks came back with Angel, not telling him who Angel really was, and then they set out to find out where the man had gone with Marlene.  
Cloud was very close to losing himself by the time she was done. He had closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth to keep himself from blowing up. He had even put the phone on speaker so that Rufus and Yazoo to hear, though it was mainly suppose to be the Ex-President who was to hear and not the other one. Yazoo only listened while wiping his gunblade down.

**"Cloud, I am so scared."** Tifa's voice cracked as she started to cry on the phone. **"He almost killed me. He was so fast, faster than I ever was. And he kept calling me tour guide as if he was in Nibelheim with you, Sephiroth and Zack. It's either that or he just heard the story about what happened." **Tifa said weakly.

Cloud opened his eyes as he remembered something. He saw the flash of a memory from those years ago. The memory of himself, Zack, Sephiroth and another. He remembered the second soldier. "Drake DuCaine..." He muttered. Rufus and Yazoo looked at him in confusion.

**"What?" **

The blonde shook his head. "Tifa, tell me what he looked like again. Tell me everything about the way he fought and what he fought with." He heard someone talking to Tifa, but she didn't seem to listen to them. She only described the man again.

**"He also fought with two swords, Cloud. Two very lethal ones. I think he said something about the names. I think he called them Death and Darkon. He was moving very quickly, faster than I ever was. He was vicious too. He kept laughing at me every time he nicked me with his blades and then really laughed when he practically knocked me out. Before I lost consciousness, he told me to tell you hello for him and ask you how it feels to be useless in saving your own skin. I didn't understand what he was talking about." **

Cloud swore again as he kicked a barrel. "Damn it! It was DuCaine!" He exclaimed as he pulled the phone away from his ear then replaced it. Rufus and Yazoo only looked at one another.

**"Cloud, did you know him? Do you know who the man is?" **Tifa asked sounding very hopeful.

Cloud nodded as if she could see him. "Yeah. I do know who you're talking about, Tifa. If he really is who I think he is, he's extremely dangerous. His name is Drake DuCaine, Tifa. He was the other soldier in Nibelheim. The one that was with us for that mission. God, I thought he was dead! He fell off a fifty foot cliff for christ's sake!" He said sounding very angry.

**"How do you know it's him though, Cloud?" **

The blonde shook his head as he ran his fingers through the yellow strands of his hair. "Because once a long time ago, I asked him that question. I can't remember why I asked it. I think it was a mission we were on together." He sighed as he turned around. "This isn't good. Not good at all. Did he say why he wanted Marlene?" He could almost see Tifa shaking her head because of the sigh she heaved.

**"No. He just said that he was sent to Midgar to get her from his employer. He never said a name at all. He just said that Marlene was chosen to be apart of a plan. He kept saying that Marlene should be scared of what was going to happen to her. But nothing else. He wouldn't say anything about what the plan was." **

Cloud sighed as he lowered his head. "I can't believe he's still alive. Even after that fall, no one went looking for him. How did he survive?" he then shook his head. "Tifa, where are you heading?" He asked as he moved over to Fenrir.

**"We're actually going to get Barret. I'm so scared of facing him, Cloud. I failed to protect Marlene. How's he going to react?" **

The blonde shook his head. "Tifa, you and I both know that how he's going to react is not going to be bad. If you told him what happened, he will understand. He'll probably be angry but he won't be angry with you. He's going to be angry with Drake. He could never stay angry with you. No one could." He could almost see Tifa faintly smile now.

**"Thanks, Cloud. I think you're right. But that doesn't help me not being scared." **She paused for a second before she blew out a nother sigh. **"How are you and Rufus doing? Where are you?" **

Cloud looked over at Rufus, who was waiting patiently on Reno's motorcycle, watching him. "We're doing just fine. We were attacked by monsters at the Chocobo Ranch, but don't worry. We both made it okay." He then turned his eyes onto Yazoo, who was trying not to meet his eye. "And you will not believe what we found in Junon Harbor."

**"We saw the fires at Junon. What happened? Were you there when those fires broke out?"**

Cloud shook his head as he climbed onto his motorcycle. "No, we weren't there. And those fires were only the people burning the dead monsters that were killed. Apparently from what we learned from the townspeople, the same kind of monsters that attacked Rufus and me attacked them. There was a lot of deaths, Tifa. More deaths than there was in Nibelheim those years ago."

**"Oh my god. Is everyone else okay?" **Tifa asked breathlessly.

Again, Cloud shook his head. "I'm afraid not. So many people died fighting those monsters. So did the town's representive. More than half of the people were dead and the other lesser half are either injured terribly or heartbroken because of the losses." He told her.

**"You said that you found something? What is it? Is it information about the scientist, Dr. Ryuu? Or the information about the monsters?" **Tifa asked, sounding very hopeful.

Cloud faintly smiled before frowning again as he looked right at Yazoo who was looking back. "No. None of those. Do you remember one of Kadaj's brothers? The one called Yazoo?"

There was a very long silence. Cloud knew that the question had just shocked her and was probably making her mind do flips in trying to figure out the answer. She finally answered, yet sounded very uneasy in finding out the answer.

**"Y-Yes. What...what about him?" **

Cloud shook his head. "He's sitting right in front of me as we speak. He's alive, Tifa."

**"What?! Are you kidding?!" **Tifa gasped.

There was a few voices on the other line. Cloud could definitely hear Cid in the background asking what Tifa was yelling for.

**"Cloud just said that Yazoo is alive! He's with him and Rufus right now!"** There were yells of shock from the people with Tifa. Cloud could hear Reno and Rude both asking if Rufus was harmed or not. They sounded like they were panicking.

**"Cloud! Are you and Rufus hurt?! Has he done anything to harm you?!" **

Cloud shook his head again. "No. He hasn't done anything. Yet." He earned a look from Yazoo.

"And I don't plan to. So you can stop being suspicious of me." The silver haired man said.

Cloud gave him a dark look. "Just because you haven't done anything to us, doesn't mean you're not planning it. So shut up." He earned an even darker look before Yazoo stood up, grabbing his bag and started to walk off the ship.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Rufus called after him.

Yazoo didn't answer as he just walked on. Cloud swore as he kicked Fenrir alive. "Tifa, he's taking off right now. I want to keep an eye on him, just to make sure he means what he said."

**"Cloud, why haven't you done something about him yet? I mean, you haven't fought him, haven't you?" **Tifa asked.

"No. We haven't fought him at all. He doesn't seem to want to fight us. All he does is just be quiet, saying nothing. He told me that he doesn't want to fight us anymore. That he wants to find out who sent the monsters to destroy Junon. I think he might have actually liked the people there. They were taking care of him over the past months. I can't tell you the details just yet. I will sometime but right now Rufus and I have to go after him before we lose him."

Rufus kicked Reno's bike alive as soon as he said that. "I'll go after him right now. To find out where he's at."

Cloud only nodded and watched him go.

**"Cloud, do you trust him? Do you really think he's changed since...you know?" **

Cloud shook his head as he just sat on Fenrir. "No. I wouldn't trust him even if my life depended on him. And I'm not sure if he's actually changed. He said he didn't remember who he was when he went to Junon. Not until after the monster attack there. But he does seem a little more peaceful than he had been around us. He hasn't done anything to threaten our lives. Look, Tifa. I better go before we lose him. You and the others just go to Nibelheim. Rufus and I will meet you there. And maybe Yazoo. But you better be careful. Yazoo said that Kadaj and Loz are alive too. He doesn't exactly know if they are. He just has a feeling that they are." His eyes then darkened. "And, Tifa..."

**"Yeah, Cloud?" **

"You be very careful. I think...I think Sephiroth's back too." He heard her gasp softly. "I can't be certain so don't be afraid. But it's just what Chloe, the Chocobo Rancher's daughter said. She had been seriously injured during the fight at the Ranch. One of the monsters nearly killed her. I thought she was a goner. But somehow she pulled out of it. She said that a one winged angel healed her. She told me that it was Sephiroth. So I haven't seen him for my own eyes just yet. But I'm not going to take any chances. Tell everyone what I said. And be careful. If he is alive, he's probably behind the new monsters. But I highly doubt that he's the employer that Drake told you about. I just do. He never really got along with Sephiroth during the ride to Nibelheim. So they didn't really like each other. But still, be careful."

**"Okay, Cloud. We will. You just take care, all right? And watch yourself. We'll keep an eye out for him. Drake and Marlene too. We'll see you in Nibelheim, okay?" **

Cloud nodded. "Okay. See you later, Tifa." And then he hung up. He quickly put Rufus's phone into his pocket and sped off the ship after Rufus and Yazoo. He found them very quickly. They both hadn't gone too far.

Rufus was slowly riding Reno's bike along side Yazoo, who was glaring off, and ignoring Rufus. Cloud rode ahead, stopping right in front of Yazoo, who stopped and glared at him. "Let me pass, Cloud. I am travelling on my own now. I don't want to be around you."

Cloud shook his head, as he pulled out his sword and pointed it right at Yazoo. "Listen, Yazoo. You're not going anywhere without us, do you hear? Otherwise, Rufus and I will kill you right here and now. I don't trust you and I have a very good reason not to. You tried to kill me, you tried to kill the Turks, you tried to kill everyone. And for what?! A stupid, ridiculous head!"

Yazoo's eyes flashed but he didn't do anything about it. He just glared at Cloud. "Now you listen to me, Yazoo. Unless you want to die right now, I suggest you lighten up and do what I tell you." Cloud said sharply.

"You are NOT in charge of me, Cloud. I do not have to do anything you tell me. I am a free person. As I have already told you, I do not want to fight you." Yazoo said before he yanked out his gunblade and slammed it against Cloud's blade, sending sparks flying.  
Both blade wielders glared into each other's eyes. "But I will, just to protect myself if you attack me. And if you remember how we fought last time, believe me, I was only taking it easy on you because I liked you. But this time, I won't." The silver haired man said in a very deadly way.

Cloud just looked at him just as deadly as he was looking at him. "You better watch it, Yazoo. You are not better than me. I've killed Sephiroth twice. And killing you will be like squashing a bee." He then slid his sword across Yazoo's blade as he put it away. Yazoo continued to glare at him as he lowered his own blade.

Rufus was looking between the two with a slight nervous way. He did not like the way this was going. And there was a crowd already gathering to see what was going on. "Come on, you two. If you don't really mean to fight one another, then put it away. There's people watching and if you two start fighting, someone else is going to get hurt."

Yazoo glanced around at the people around them before he slid his gunblade out of sight. He turned away from Cloud. "I'm going on. If you still want to keep an eye on me, then I suggest you come with me now." He said before starting to walk away.

Cloud, however, swung a hand around to grab a hold of his leather top, holding him in place.

Yazoo just looked down at his hand before turning his darkening eyes onto Cloud. "Let go." He said quietly.

Cloud only held on as he glared right into Yazoo's eye, who glared right back. "What are you going to ride?" He finally asked.

Yazoo's face softened yet in a confused way. "What?"

Cloud let go of his shirt. "I said, what are you going to ride? We need to pick up our speed. Marlene has been taken by a very dangerous man and I have a feeling that they've already crossed the ocean since yesterday morning. I don't know where DuCaine is taking her, but I tell you one thing. Where he is taking her, he is not going to reach that place. Not with her." He then shook his head before nodding to Rufus. "I hightly doubt Shinra wants you to ride with him on Reno's bike. Because I surely don't want to ride with you. So if we're going to be travelling with one another, we need to be going at the same speed."

Yazoo just stared at him in the eye before he turned his head when they heard the roars of an engine. Even Cloud and Rufus turned to see what was coming their way. There was a bike gang coming their way, and heading straight for the Costa Del Sol bar. All of them were wearing black leather with bloody skulls imprints on the back.

(A/N: Wow! Such a coincidence, huh? lol)

"The Blood Wraiths Gang. I've heard of them. They've been causing trouble here." Rufus muttered as he looked at the gang with disgust.

Yazoo then smirked as he dropped his bag onto the ground and then tightened his fist. "I think I found my ride."

Cloud gave him a look. "You're going to steal one of their bikes?"

Yazoo looked back at him, still smirking. "Why not? They steal from innocent people after beating them up. I think they need a lesson taught."

The blonde rolled his eyes before turning Fenrir off, so did the Ex-President. "All right. Whatever you say. Just...don't kill them." The silver haired man nodded before he turned and walked towards the gang, who were all dismounting.

The gang were such a bad mannered group. They were either large around the middle or trying their best to look so macho. Most of them were a lot bigger than Yazoo. But that didn't seem to frighten him one bit. After all, he was a remenant of Sephiroth, right?  
The leader of the gang was a very large man, who loved to bully people. That included women and children. He had even assaulted a child of thirteen once just to get their wallet. He didn't seem to notice Yazoo walking towards him as he started to bully a business man about giving them his brief case. "Hand it over or prepare to get hurt." The large leader said with a cruel smile.

The business man cowered under all of the men standing above him, all grinning. A very frightened look on his face as he clutched onto his brief case. "P-please, sirs. I don't have th-that much mon-money."

The leader only sneered. "That's too bad!" And then he punched the business man hard in the stomach, making him fly back into the wall, dropping the suitcase. The man fell to the ground, crumpled.

One of the gang members picked up the suit case and popped it open. There was loads of cash inside it. "Oooh! Looks like someone was lying to us, Boss Mose."

Boss Mose sneered as he grinned evilly at the crumpled business man. "That's the last mistake you'll ever make." He said pulling out a long bladed knife.

That is until they all heard footsteps behind them and a click as if someone had just pulled back a trigger. "You know, the real last mistake you'll be making is deciding to fight me."

The Gang members all jerked around to see who was interrupting, only to see Yazoo, standing there with his gunblade out. They just stared at him before bursting into laughter. "Oh my god! You have got to be kidding me! Does this shrimp really think he can take us on?!" One gang member laughed, holding his sides.

Yazoo didn't retaliate at all as he just stepped into a fighting position. The gang only laughed harder. "Hey, Joe! Do you really think that guy is a guy? He looks like a girl with that long hair! Talking about a sissy!" Another laughed.

Yazoo's eyes flashed with offense this time. He gritted his teeth and prepared to attack.

Off to the side, Rufus winced with a short laugh as he looked the smirk on Cloud's face. "Damn. I think that one just made his last mistake." He said laughing.  
The other blonde gave a short chuckle as he looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh yeah. That was definitely his last mistake. This is going to be amusing." He said. Rufus nodded as they returned their attention back onto the gang and Yazoo.

Boss Mose clicked his fingers and pointed at Yazoo. "Boys, teach this little maggot a lesson for getting into our affairs. And bring me that pretty weapon of his. I want that."  
The gang all nodded and rushed Yazoo, who just stood there like he was going to do nothing. The gang only ran at him, swinging chains or brass knuckles.

Before a single one could hit him, Yazoo jumped up into the air, flipping over their heads.

"What the?!" They all cried out before every single one got kicked in the head by Yazoo's foot.

He moved around them, under their swinging chains and fists, and even jerked around to behind them before they could even blink. Without any effort at all, every single gang member was on the ground, groaning in pain. Only Yazoo stood. He threw his long bangs out of his eyes as he glanced down at the fallen gang members. "Hmph. Not even worth my time." He said quietly before his senses kicked in. He quickly dropped down into a low crouch as Boss Mose threw one of the members' bike at him. It missed him by an inch.  
Yazoo quickly jumped into the air, doing a back flip right over Boss Mose as he slammed spiked club into the ground where he had been.  
The silver haired gunblader landed behind him before slamming his foot into his back, sending him flying into a light post. He was down for the count.  
Yazoo stood up straight, looking around at the work he had completed. Every single one were down.

Nodding, the silver haired warrior turned around and picked up the fallen brief case and walked over to the business man, trying to stand up. The man flinched as soon he stepped up to him. The silver haired man only dropped the case down beside him. "Here. This belongs to you." He then looked at the motorcycles that still remained. He smirked as he chose Boss Mose's bike. He went over and climbed on it while sliding his gunblade back into it's rightful place. He kicked the bike to life, slowly riding past the gang.

"This will be the last time you ever pick on innocent people. Do it again and I will be back. Next time, you won't be lucky." He then smirked down at Boss Mose, who was slowly stirring from unconsciousness. "Oh, by the way. I'm borrowing your bike." He then sped towards Cloud and Rufus, who immediately kicked their bikes to life.

The three only sped right down the street, to the entrance of town. Yazoo had quickly made a turn around and sped back to pick up his bag. He never stopped or slowed down as he grabbed it and went right back after Cloud and Rufus.


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I decided to update the story today, even though no one reviewed yet. In this chapter you'll find out quite a few things. Including about how Eden met Jake. You might be surprised at the end of this chapter, but in a pleasant way. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter. **

**Chapter X:**

The two of them were slowly making their way across the terrain, none of them were talking to each other at all. They hadn't spoken to one another since they left Gongonga. Loz didn't seem to mind that much though. He was finding interest in playing 'Fetch' with Bear as they made their way through a forest.  
Rigal would only watch with interest, smiling a few times as he watched Loz act like a very big kid. The large man would clap his hands, gleefully, when Bear returned with the stick. "Good boy!" He would say happily before taking the stick and throwing it again.

"You know, you're a lot different from what I thought you'd be." The dark haired man finally spoke up.

Loz looked at him with confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?" He asked as he turned his eyes back onto Bear, running back with the stick.

Rigal shook his head. "Forgive me for saying, but you seem a little...I don't know, childish for a Sephiroth clone."

Loz gave him a look as he looked ready to cry. "I am not childish and I am not a Sephiroth clone! Stop saying that!"

Rigal looked uneasy to see him getting so upset. He just held up his hands and shook his head. "I didn't mean to offend you. Please don't get so mad. I meant, it's great to see that you're different from what I thought you would be like."

Loz sniffed a few times before folding his large arms over his chest. "Oh really? Exactly how do you think I would be like, anyway? Huh?! Someone who kills anyone just by looking at him? Nah-uh! Not me!" He grumbled in such a babyish way.

Rigal smiled faintly as he shook his head. "Well, that's what I did think. But seeing you play like that, I now see that I was wrong. Very wrong." He looked ahead as they continued to walk.

There was a long silence between the two before Loz and Bear quickly followed him. None of them talked for a moment before the large man looked back at Rigal. "Hey! This friend of yours, he got a name?"

Rigal only glanced at him before nodding. "Of course he has a name. Everyone has a name. If they didn't, there wouldn't be any point of living." He looked straight a head again. "Why do you ask?"

Loz shrugged. "Just wondering. Is he nice?"

Rigal couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the larger man. "Yes, Loz. He's very nice. His name Ryuu. But I can't tell you his last name. Not right now. There could be spies listening in."

Loz tilted his head, looking confused. "Spies? What are spies?"

Rigal shrugged as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Ah, you know. Enemies. People who are bad and they'll tell on us."

Loz understood now. "Oh!" He then shrugged. "Well, Bear'll keep us informed. He'll tell us if there are any spies around."

Rigal only smiled up at him. "I bet he will. He seems like a good dog. Where'd you get him, by the way?"

Loz smiled down at Bear. "Bear? Well, he actually came to me. I was playing with Laura one day and we were attacked by a large herd of those things called Theseraians or something like that. They weren't that tough but there was a lot of them. And I was having a hard time fighting them all at once. So here came Bear. He helped me fight them all off. And he's been with me since then." He said as he patted bear on the head. Rigal only smiled as he started to walk on.

Before he go any further, Loz stood up quickly and grabbed his shoulder. It made him jump a little, now looking uneasy of him again, but he realized that Loz wasn't looking at him. He was just looking around with a very alert look on his face. And Bear was growling.

Rigal looked around, now just as alert. "What is it?" He whispered.

Loz slowly shook his head as he turned around, looking off into the trees. "Something's here." He whispered back. He then looked down at Bear and clicked his fingers. The dog gave another growl and started sniffing the ground, wandering around the two.

Finally, the dog snarled as he lift his head, growling towards the east. Loz and Rigal both turned and looked to where the dog was growling at. The larger man cracked his knuckles as if he was getting ready to fight.

Suddenly, black shadows burst out of the bushes and out of the shadows came very large black beasts that Loz recognized immediately. He remembered how Yazoo and Kadaj knew how to control these creatures very well. He only wondered if he could control these ones. So he rose his hand for them to stop but they ignored him. And he knew they were not anything like the others. The beasts snarled as they began to lunge at the three.  
Immediately, Loz snapped to a fighting position, throwing his fist up into one of the beast's face. He sent it flying away before he spun around, kicking the next beast hard in the head. Bear snarled before lunging onto another shadow monster and began to fight it. They were locked into a deadly game of brawns.  
Loz's head jerked around when he heard a gun shot. He only relaxed when he saw that it was just Rigal shooting at the beasts with a pair of a guns. And he was shooting pretty good. He hardly missed his target. He shot one of the shadow creepers away from him before looking over at Loz, who grinned at him before turning back and slammed his fist into another's beast's face.

Suddenly there was a robotic click, making Rigal turn around to see what it was only to have a metallic hand shot forward and wrap around his throat. He gasped to see a large robot right in front of him before crying out in pain as it slammed him into a tree, five feet off the ground. The impact had made him drop his guns. He looked wide eyed at the robot before him. His light brown eyes looked at those violent red ones with horror. The robot was clicking and beeping in a very threatening way.

"What the?!" Rigal gasped as he looked down at him.

"Hey! Put him down!" Loz yelled.

The robot turned around to see the silver haired man. It just tightened its grip around Rigal's neck, making him gasp in pain. He grabbed a hold of the robot's arm, shrugging every second to get away.

Loz just gritted his teeth angrily as he moved forward; Bear at his side, snarling at the robot. "I said let him go!"

The robot ignored him as it turned back to Rigal and spoke this time in English.

**"Where is Dr. Ryuu?!" **It demanded.

At first, Rigal looked stunned and very afraid but then he gritted his teeth. His eyes narrowed angrily at the robot. "Get off of me! I won't tell you where he is!" He snapped.

The robot made a threatening noice as it threw him away from him and began firing Mako blasts at him.

Rigal cried out with shock as he went flying towards the trees but he manage to land on his feet, turning around to prepare for another attack. But he gasped as he saw the Mako blasts flying at him. He stepped back against the tree as they flew at him.  
Suddenly, Loz appeared at his side, pulling him backwards, behind him. He made sure that Rigal was behind him before he swung his powerful arm and knocked the blast away from him. He ended up crying out in pain as the blast burned his skin. He only winced as he tried to wave it off. "Damn it! That hurt!" He cried out.

The robot seemed a little surprised to see that he did that but then beeped angrily before it starting to charge. Loz smirked as he clenched hsi fists and rushed right back.

The two met quickly, both slamming one another around. Loz threw his fists into the robot's metal frame, just pounding the crud out of it. The only thing was, he was going giving it small dents. It didn't seem to be wearing down at all. It began firing off Mako blasts at Loz. However he kept moving around, dodging the blasts as fast he could before he decided to pick up a log and hit the robot with it.

Suddenly, there was a loud click and a new arm slid out from the robot's side. It thrust out and grabbed Loz's arm with the log.  
Out of surprise, he looked down at the arm. He had not expected to see third arm. That gave the robot the chance it needed. One of its other arms thrust out and wrapped around the silver haired man's neck. It startled Loz quite a bit but not enough to make him freeze up. He gritted his teeth and started to throw his fist towards the robot's face.

Before he could even hit it, the robot began to spin around in circles, slamming him into trees around them. Loz only grunted in pain as soon he collided with a few. Then the robot slammed him into the ground, dazing him a little.

Just then, there was a snarl and Bear came to the rescue. He lept onto the robot and began to bite the metal to make it let go of his master. The dog only yiped when the robot swung Loz around, swinging him like a bat, and hit him away. That was when Loz quickly grabbed a hold of a tree he was slammed into. He held onto the tree tightly as he yanked one foot free and slammed his heel inot the robot's face, sending it flying away from him. He quickly stood up and rushed over to Bear's side. The dog was whinning in pain as he laid on the ground.

"Bear!"

"Loz! Watch out!" Rigal yelled out as he snatched up his guns and began firing at the robot.

Loz jerked around on his heels, looking at the robot with rage.

Instead, there was a strange sound, like something very big was cutting through the air and then the robot made a metallic crunching sound as it began to shut off. It fell to the ground, the lights inside it began to die down. It had died. Something had killed it. But what?

Loz stood up looking ready for another attack. But none came. He heard footsteps coming towards him so he spun around looking at whoever it was. To his great surprise, it was a very much smaller man in large black robes. There was a scarf wrapped his head, hiding his identity. In his hand was some kind of gun with a strange screen on it. The man only glanced at Loz before rushing over to his side and bending down by the dog's side.

Loz gritted his teeth and practically growled at the man in a dangerous way. "Don't you dare shoot Bear!"

The man looked at him, his soft brown eyes meeting his green cat like eyes. They lit up a little to see him. He followed Loz's eyes to the gun in his hand before he shook his head. "Don't worry. This gun works only on machines. It wouldn't harm him even if I tried." His voice was very soft and full of kindness.

Rigal joined their sides, sliding his guns back into their holsters. "Don't be alarmed, Loz. It's okay. He's my friend." He then looked at the man sternly. "Doctor, what you doing out here anyway?! You're suppose to be hiding."

The man shook his head as he looked back down at Bear, gently touching the dog as if checking for broken bones. "Rigal, I needed a break. My science can wait for a little while. And as I told you before, I am not afraid of those hypocrites and their new master. Nor of that insane man they're working for."

Loz just looked at the man with confusion. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

Rigal shook his head. "There's probably not very much time. Where there is a M.A.K.O bot, there are more. We must go back to the lab, Ryuu."

Just as he said that, they heard a loud blow horn like sound in the air. The three men spun around, looking off towards the noise. "We better get going before they come." The man, Ryuu said.

Rigal nodded as he straightened his shirt, tucking it back in. "Let's go then."

Loz shook his head. "Not without Bear. I will not leave him." He said seriously.

The man only nodded. "Then bring your dog. He will be all right. He's only going to have bumps and bruises. There's no broken bones." He stood up. "The truck is beyond those trees, Rigal. We must hurry. The M.A.K.O bots will be upon us soon if we don't move."

The other two nodded. Loz quickly picked Bear up, hugging him close and hurried after the other two.

The three rushed through the trees to where a truck was sitting behind large bushes. All of them hurried and climbed into the truck.

"Who are you?" Loz asked again.

The man lowered his hood as he climbed into the passenger side, while Rigal climbed in the driver's side. Loz climbed into the back, holding onto Bear. He looked the man over.  
"My name is Ryuu Hojo. I'm an old scientist from Shinra. I'm afraid the robots are after me. As are the monsters. They were sent to hunt me down."

* * *

Tifa turned her eyes onto Cid when he announced they had arrived in Corel Town. She was a little nervous about meeting with Barret after what happened to Marlene. She hoped that he wouldn't be too angry. Not at her anyway. 

"Tifa, it's going to be okay." Aeris finally spoke up next to her. Everyone looked over when she had. "Barret won't be mad at you. It wasn't your fault when it happened." The flower girl softly spoke as she took her friend's hand. Tifa gave her a faint smile.

Reno nodded as he stood up straight from where he was lounging. "Yeah. Besides, one look at Flower girl there, he's not going to be do a lot of yelling. Probably just staring."

Everyone couldn't help but smile or laugh. "He's got a friggen point, Teef. Seeing Aeris, here, is going to shock 'em." Cid said as he chewed on a toothpick.

Tifa smiled with a nod. "I guess you're right." She looked at Aeris, who was smiling. "I think everyone's going to be very surprised when they find out. Happy but surprised." Aeris only nodded in agreement.

There was a long silence before Cid pointed. "There he is. Looks like Reeve's with him." Everyone looked to see that he was right. Right next to Barret was a man in a dark blue suit. "Ya want to go suprise the big man before he starts friggen yelling?" The pilot asked.  
Everyone smiled before they all turned and went out to the balconey.

They watched Barret and Reeve climb up the ladder then over the railing with their bags over their shoulder. A very grumpy look on Barret's face. He looked just as grumpy as he did when they were all in the Desert Prison those years ago. "A'ight, who in da hell..." He cut off right away as he spotted Aeris standing in the back.

Reeve froze as he did. His eyes grew wide and he dropped his bag. "Aeris?" He whispered.

Everyone only smiled. Aeris stepped forward and nodded. "Don't worry. It's me. I'm alive just like you." Barret stared at her with wide eyes, trying to decide if he was awake. Reeve then smiled. "You're alive. Amazing."

Barret then grinned. "Yeah! Like I always say! You can't keep a good person down!"

Reno stepped forward, folding his arms. "Yeah, that's true. But you can't keep a bad guy down either."

Both Barret and Reeve looked over at him. Yet the Ex-Shinra employer looking very surprised. "Reno." He then looked at Rude. "Rude. What are you doing here?"

Barret growled as he stared at him. "Yeah! What're they doing here?" He growled.

Tifa glanced at the Turks, who both folded their arms with looks on their faces. She sighed and shook her head. "Barret, I told you before. Reno and Rude are here to help. They want to help get Marlene back."

Barret grumbled. "Yeah, well I don't trust 'em."

Tifa nodded. "I know. But you have to give them a chance. They want to make up for what they did three years ago. Please, Barret."

Barret shook his head as he folded his large arms. "Whatever. Where's the hell is Spike? Why ain't he here?" he asked in a grumpy mood. Everyone just smiled and shook their heads. Tifa then began to explain about how the whole thing started. She didn't leave anything out. Not one thing.

By the time she was finished, both Barret and Reeve looked stunned. Almost as if someone had clubbed them on the head with a fish. There was a very long silence before Reeve shook his head. "Are you serious about what Cloud said about Sephiroth? He can't be alive. Cloud killed him twice. How could he still be alive?"

Tifa shrugged. "I don't know, Reeve. Cloud is trying to find out right now by going to Nibelheim. Even if he is travelling with Rufus and Yazoo."

A very disapproving look appeared on Barret's face. "I don' think tha's smart of Cloud, travelling with Shinra and that little silver haired shit."

"Hey, Wallace." Reno said. Barret turned around and gave him a look. "I know you don't like us very much and you do have a good reason not to. But you got to remember something. Rufus was sick with Geostigma for a long time. He even had to be in a wheelchair because of it. He's still recovering. So there's no wa he can do anything to Strife. Not even when he wanted to. He knows that Cloud can kick the shit out of him."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Not to mention, Cloud can take Yazoo anytime. He has done it before. He's a lot stronger than he used to be. Plus Rufus is watching his back." Tifa finished Reno's speech.

Once again, everyone nodded. "And if Yazoo was smart, he wouldn't try anything. He'd be deader than dead." Reno added.

Barret nodded. "Maybe so. Hey, Teef! Tell me about this Drake dude. What did Cloud tell you?"

Tife shook her head. "Only what I told you. Drake DuCaine is very dangerous and he's not very nice. I met him once but that was a long time ago. He never really spoke to me before."

Reeve folded his arms. "Don't you remember anything?"

Tifa shook her head. "Of course, I remember. But like I said, Drake's never spoke to me before." She told him.

The Ex-Shinra employee folded his arms and looked away with a distant look. "Hm. Drake DuCaine? That sounds familiar. I think I've met him before. But I'm not sure. I think he used to be a very friendly man. He wasn't cold at all. A fair few times, he did get into arguements with a few people but nothing else. I think...I think I remember him."

Everyone just looked at him. Tifa stepped over to him, touching his arm. "Do you? Do you really know him?"

Reeve shook his head. "Not personally really. I've only heard of him and seen him once. Back then he had short hair and not long the way you said that he had."

Everyone was quiet for a long time, trying to think things through before Cid gave a loud huff. "So what're we going to do?" He asked. Tifa looked over athim. "Cloud and Rufus are going to Nibelheim with Yazoo. He said that Yuffie called to tell him she was leading two others there. They'll be meeting each other in Nibelheim. Since they're meeting each other, why don't we go there too?"

Everyone nodded. "That's a thought. Then we can search for Marlene. I just hope she's okay. I've always liked that kid." Reno said.

Barret did look a little more pleasant after that. "She's great, isn't she? I'll tell you what though. When we find this Drake fellar, he's going to wish he was dead. Because I'm gonna do a lot worst than killing him." He growled. Everyone nodded in agreement. They just turned their eyes forward as the airship sped up.

* * *

Kadaj had finally made it to shore. He had slept most of the time while the boatman was driving the speedboat. 

Throughout the night, he had some strange dreams. It was true he had dreamed of what he did in the past but he also dreamed of something else. He had dreamed about being in the Lifestream, surrounded by people. He even saw Yazoo and Loz there, both looking just as confused as he felt. There was another's though that he did not count on seeing. Sephiroth's face. Kadaj remembered how Sephiroth just stood there with Ancient's in the Promised Land as if he was one of them. He was the only one wearing all black with a magnificent black wing spread out behind him. And he was saying something that Kadaj couldn't hear completely. He said something about someone called the Phoenix. But then his dreams changed and he saw something else. He remembered seeing a pair of strange purple but beautiful eyes looking right back at him. Inside the eyes, he saw a brilliant bird of fire. A magestic song was lifting into the air, soothing his soul. He felt completely calm listening to it. As he listened to the music, he could hear some one whispering his name. His and his two brothers's names. It couldn't have been their mother, Jenova. For some reason, he doubted that it was Jenova.  
Instead, one word was echoing through his mind. One title that he thought he'd never hear again. "Sister."

"Kale, we've arrived."

Kadaj jerked out of his thoughts as soon as he heard the boatman. He looked over at him before looking around. "Huh? Where are we?"

The boatman just pointed off. "See that town over there yonder?" Kadaj looked to see what he was talking about. Far off in the distance, he could see a town standing alone. It was small and it surrounded what looked like a launch pad. "That's Rocket Town. I know a few people there. Just mention my name, Ol' Muller, and they'll help you out."

The silver haired man nodded with a faint smile. "Thanks, Muller. And when you get home, tell April I made it safely. And that I'm sorry for the grief I've caused." He said before turning away.

Before he go any farther, Muller grabbed his arm. "Kale, don't ya ever think you ever caused us grief. Not because of Tilar. He's only headstrong and untrusting because some monster called Weapon killed his family when it wrecked Mideel years back. He lost everything and it made him into a hard man. But seriously, boy. He really liked ya. He jsut had a hard time showing it."

Kadaj just smiled. "Thanks, Muller. Hope to see you around sometime."

The old man nodded. "You take care, Kale. Don't ya hurt yourself."

Kadaj nodded. "I won't. The only person I'm going to hurt is whoever sent those monsters after us. And killed April's son. They will pay for what they've done." He said. Muller nodded. "Good luck, Kale." Kadaj nodded and began his journey towards the town.

As he walked, his mind was on the dreams again. He couldn't help but wonder where he had seen those lovely eyes from. He didn't think he had ever seen them and he hoped that he would. He couldn't help but wonder who the owner of them was. He hoped he would get to meet the owner soon. There was just that something about them. He knew if he ever faced the person who owned those eyes, he could never fight her.

* * *

Eden was sitting against the tree, with a few things running on her own mind. She was thinking about her past life and the one she was living now. She was also thinking about how she met Jake. She remembered it pretty well. It was like yesterday. She remembered how friendly Jake was being to her. 

**flashback**

She had been fighting a large Adamantine when she was attacked by the very first new monster she had ever seen. It was a very strange looking monster with the head of a eagle and the body of a lion. However, it was nothing but a skeleton and scraps of skin hanging off it's body. It was like a zombied griffin. And it was wicked fast. It was probably because it didn't have anything to hold it back.  
Even she, Eden Black, The Phoenix Project, had a hard time fighting it.

She had gotten a few hits off of it when it knocked her down with its speed. It was about to leap on her when suddenly there was a battle cry and Jake had appeared. He jumped onto the monster and began stabbing it with his daggers. Unfortunately, it didn't have anywhere to stab so he just began grabbing bones and ripping them out. It took a while to kill it but they managed. And now they were meeting each other for the first time.

**'Hi there! I'm Za...uh...I mean, the name's Jake. What's your name?" **

Eden just stared at him as if he was a monster wearing a tutu. She had never met a more friendly man than this guy. In fact, she never met anyone. She had always kept her distance from people.

_"Eden. Eden Black"_

**"Eden Black, huh? Well nice to meet ya, Eden. Where you from?"** Jake asked, grinning at her in a very friendly way.

_"No where. I don't where my hometown is. And I'd rather not talk about it."_

**"No prob. You know, you kind of remind me of someone I once knew. Anyway, where you headed?" **

The memory of meeting Jake slowly moved on until later that night when they were sitting around a camp fire. Eden was staring into the fire with a distant look on her face.

_"Jake? You mentioned that you're after killers, right?" _

Jake looked up at her for the longest time before he looked back at the fire. He was quiet for a minute. **"...yeah..."**

_"What killers?"_

There was a long silence between them. Eden could see pain hidden in Jake's eyes and she was starting to regret asking. **"...a family of ranchers...they saved my life one time. I had been seriously injured a few months ago. They gave me food, cloths, everything. They even gave me a job when I needed money. They were like a family to me. I had sworn I would protect them from any harm."** He sighed a very sad sigh. **"But then some men came looking for a man called Dr. Ryuu and killed them. They had asked if the family had seen them. I had been away that day though. On business for the rancher. I know they did because the rancher's young daughter, Jessamine, Jessa for short, told me. She told me before she died in my arms." **Jake closed his eyes, looking very sad. He was quiet for a long time before reopening his eyes, with a hated glare in them. **"I swore I would hunt down their killers. Either that, or find out what they wanted with the man, Dr. Ryuu. Huh? Eden? what's wrong?" **He had stopped when he saw the look on her face. Eden had this very distant look on her face but he could see that she knew that name.

_"..."_

**"Eden?"**

She finally looked at him, a very determined look on her face. _"...I'm going to travel with you. Do you mind?" _

Jake was surprised by that but he nodded. He didn't mind at all that she could travel with him. **"Sure. I don't mind. Why though? What're you looking for?" **

Eden shook her head as she looked back into the fire. _"...I have my reasons for travelling with you. One, because I don't have a real planned destination, so I go where ever I can. Two, because I want to help you hunt these men down. I hate murdering scumbags who kill children. Or torture them." _A very unpleasant look appeared on her face. She then looked up at Jake. _"If we find them, the men that killed your family, I have questions for them before you kill them. Is that all right?" _

Jake nodded. **"Sure. I don't care. Do you want to talk about what's on your mind?" **

She shook her head. _"No. My business is my own. It would be best if you didn't know anything about me. For your own safety."_

**"Why?"**

_"...because. Just trust me."_

**"Okay. I trust you." **

**end flashback**

And he did trust her.

Even though she wouldn't tell him anything about herself. For the past several months, he had trusted her and didn't ask too many questions or push her to telling him. She thought he deserved to know now. He had gained her trust and friendship by treating her like a human being. He was kind to her and not many people had been. Not since the man from her past. The one who was like a father to her.

"...Dr. Ryuu..."

Suddenly there was a rustle of leaves, as if someone was pushing through bushes. Eden jerked out of her thoughts, standing up very quickly with her sword in hand. Yuffie and Jake, too, had stood up and grabbed their weapons. All three were very alert and waiting for something to happen. They then noticed that someone was there.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Jake called.

Then there was the dark chuckle. "Zack? Could that really be you?"

Eden looked over at Jake in confusion, who too looked confused. He also looked a little pale but seriously confused. His eyes had squinted with familiarity but confusion. "Who is that?"

The three watched as a man slowly stepped out of the bushes. He was wearing a long dark brown hooded cloak. His face was hidden under the cloak but they could see the glint of glowing green from under them. "Wow. This is an unexpected surprise. Here, I had heard you were dead but find you alive. I had given up on seeking my revenge against you. I was only going to go after Cloud Strife." The man spoke in a very dark tone.

Both Jake and Yuffie looked even more alert. The young ninja looked like she was going to start attacking if he didn't tell them what he meant. "Who are you?! What do you want with Cloud?!" She demanded.

The man just chuckled as he glanced at her before looking at the confused look on Jake's face. Then he slowly reached up and started to lower his hood. "Don't you remember me? You must have. After all, it has been seven years since we last met. You did abandon me on that bridge. Along with Strife and Sephiroth."

The three now got a good look at the man and Jake looked very surprised and confused at the same time. He straightened a little and lowered his daggers. There was familiarity dancing in his dark blue eyes. "Drake DuCaine?"

Drake DuCaine's eyes blazed with a wicked glint as he looked Jake in the eye. A very cold smirk spread out on his handsome face. "Oh. Now you remember me. Do you remember what you last said to me? Grow up, Drake. And leave Cloud alone or I'll kick your ass"

Jake frowned as he shook his head. "Drake, you were teasing Cloud about his motion sickness. Sephiroth told you to leave alone at least ten times." He said in a harsh way.

Drake glared at him. "Screw Sephiroth! He's dead and that's all that matters! Soon, Zack! Soon, you and Cloud will be joining him in Hell!" He spat.

Jake glared right back at him as did Yuffie. "You must not know Cloud very well then! He could take you out anytime, anywhere, anyplace! He killed Sephiroth three times, you ego maniac! And he killed Sephiroth's larva men too! And Bahamut when he was evil! You're nothing to him!" She said angrily.

Eden looked at Yuffie, still trying to figure out why this man was calling Jake by a different name. She would ask him later. "Yuffie, careful. He's giving off bad vibes." She whispered to her.

Drake only sneered. "Cloud Strife? The third class weakling? Ha! He's just a sad and pathedic soldier who could never even defeat me in a single match!" He said in a harsh tone.

Jake glared at him. "Things change, Drake! Cloud is a lot stronger now. Surely, you've heard of the accomplisments he made over the past years." He then nodded to Yuffie. "In fact, Yuffie, here, is one of his friends. She helped him save the Planet from Sephiroth and Meteor."

Yuffie nodded looking very proud at herself. "Yeah! Avalanche is the best!"

"So I've heard." Drake said with a smirk. His eyes had that glint again. "I'm still not impressed. I understood that every single one of the Avalanche were the strongest fighters on Planet. Problem is, I haven't seen it yet. For I have already killed one Avalanche member."

The world came crashing down on Yuffie. She looked like someone had just slapped her hard. "Wh...What?! No! You're lying! You can't kill..." She stopped talking and clutched her Crystal Cross tightly. "You didn't kill...!" But the smirk on Drake's face told her that he wasn't lying. Her knees gave out on her and she fell to them. Her head hung down. "No..." She whispered. Tears filled her eyes. She then stood up quickly, glaring at Drake. "Who?! Who did you kill?! Who will I have to avenge?!" She demanded.

Drake sneered. "The tour guide from Nibelheim. Tifa Lockhart."

The young ninja's face went deathly pale. Her heart had nearly stopped when she heard the name. She couldn't believe it. This man had killed Tifa? No, it couldn't have been true. "You...You're lying!" She cried out.

The dark man only smirked. "I am? Well, I can't make you believe me. But I can prove it. Somewhere beyond the trees behind me I had taken a girl from The 7th Heaven." he turned around looking into the trees. "Isn't that right, Marlene Wallace?!" He called into the trees.

"Marlene?!" Yuffie screeched.

There was a startled cry deep within the trees. It was obvious the girl that Drake was talking about was at least fifty yards away. But she did hear Yuffie's voice. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE!" Drake only laughed as he heard the voice.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS!" Yuffie screamed as she charged at Drake.

"Yuffie! Don't!" Jake cried out as he hurried forward.

But Yuffie wasn't going to listen to him. She was angry. She was angry for what he did to Tifa. And for taking Marlene. She was going to stop him and then take Marlene back to Barret. She would find out what happen to Tifa. The young ninja leapted at Drake, flinging her Crystal Cross at him. She was angry at him for what he was. She could hear Jake shouting out at her to stop but she wouldn't listen. She just charged at Drake's back, wanting to stab him in the spine.

Suddenly, he moved. There was a flash of silver and sparks flew as his blade hit Yuffie's Crystal Cross away from him. The Cross flew right into a tree near by. Then the young ninja girl flew back, gasping in pain as Drake slammed his foot into her stomach. She hit a tree log, cracking the wood and sending splinters flying.

"Yuffie!" Jake cried out.

Eden just flinched as she stood up straighter.

Jake stepped forward to go help Yuffie but stopped when Drake turned his swords onto him. One was near his throat and the other was at his legs between. He stepped back a little but his old comrad followed. He knew that if he tried to move again, Drake could kill him. He knew that he was fast and very wicked with his blades.

"Tell me, Zack. Give me a very good reason why I shouldn't do it. Ever since I fell from that bridge, nearly died because you didn't come looking for me. I was in a coma for five years, Zack. Five years! I lost five years of my life because of you, Cloud and Sephiroth. I've been wanting my revenge! So tell me. Why shouldn't I do it?" Drake hissed as he glared right into Jake's eyes.

"Maybe this'll answer your question." Eden spoke up from behind him.

Drake turned his head a little to see behind him but stopped when he noticed the gun at his head. "Let him go now or I will blow your brains out of your head. And don't think I won't." The red haired warrioress threatened.

The wicked man smirked over at her as he looked at the nose of the gun. "Oh really? Guess what, my pretty woman. I've been dead for a long time. Thanks to Zack, here." He said nodding to Jake.

Eden pressed the gun against his temple. "Well, dead man. I'll make this hurt. Now withdraw your blades." She said in a deadly hiss.

There was a long pause before Drake spun around, swinging his blade. Eden was fast enough to jump back but not fast enough to avoid Drake grabbing her arm and yanking her back towards him. He spun her around so that she would face Jake, who was swinging his daggers. Her arms were yanked to behind her in a painful position.

Jake had to stop in midswing so he wouldn't slash her. He looked angry that Drake would use his friend against him. He glared hard into Drake's eyes. "How the hell did you survive that fall, Drake? You fell off a fifty foot drop. Maybe even more. How did you?"

Drake sneered as he pressed his blade into Eden's back. "Believe me when I say this, Zack. I almost died. I had several broken bones and I had been lying in a Mako puddle for a week. If it wasn't for Shinra, I would be dead now. They found me, Zack. They found me and saved my life. But it was Hojo who made me into what I am today. He gave me everything I need to fullfill my revenge on you, on Cloud and Sephiroth." He smirked. "Unfortunately, Sephiroth isn't around anymore. He was killed twice by that no brain, chocobo boy. How that happened I don't know. But I'll tell you one thing. He's going to be sorry that he ever killed him. For I wanted to be the one to do it. He's going to wish he never survived Hojo's experiments on him, making him into a Sephiroth clone."

"Yo, dude! He killed Sephiroth more than twice, you numbnuts!" Yuffie snapped before she slashed his back with her Shruiken.

Drake quickly let go of Eden, leaping away from both of them, clutching his back in pain. He glared at all three facing him with their weapons.

"Drake, if you want to live, you turn around and walk away. I know that we did wrong in not going to look for you. And I'm sorry, Drake. I really am sorry. Cloud and I wanted to look for you. But we were pressed for time. There were monsters coming out of the reactor. We had a mission to do." Jake said.

Drake narrowed his eyes before looking over his shoulder. They all could hear Marlene crying out for help still. Yuffie looked like she was going to rush at Drake and demand for Marlene.

"What do you want with that girl, Drake? You've always been against kidnapping. So what do you want?" Jake asked.

Drake narrowed his eyes at him. "It's not what I want, Zack. It's what my employer wants. Don't worry. She'll live. You might never get to see her again, but she'll live."

Yuffie shook her head. "Please, give her to me. Let her go."

Drake shook his head. "I'm sorry I can't do that. But I can give you a few play mates." he rose his hand and a dark aura formed around him. Instantly, out of the ground shot out several Shadow Creepers. "Have fun." Drake then turned and rushed into the bushes.

The three would have followed but the Shadow creepers blocked their paths and started to attack them. So they had no choice but to stay and fight.

The battle didn't last long at all. The Shadow Creepers weren't that strong. But they had lost Drake. The three had even ran in the direction where Drake had gone but they didn't find him. They searched for a long time before giving up. Yuffie collapsed to her knees and started to cry. Niether one, Eden or Jake, knew how to comfort her. Apparently Drake had killed a very close friend of her's. She had the right to cry.

Eden, however, turned to Jake, giving him a strange look. "Jake, who was that and who are you really? Jake isn't your real name is it?"

Jake looked at her before shaking his head. "No, it's not. My real name is Zack. I was a First Class SOLDIER in Shinra before I quit. Before the family had saved me, like I told you, Eden, I had been killed several years ago. But for some reason, I was revived and brought back onto the Planet." He shook his head. "I don't know why I'm here. When I first met you, I knew that why I was here, it has something to do with you."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI:**

The truck pulled up in front of the house and the three climbed out. The dog shook himself a few times before joining his master. Loz patted him on the head before following the other two. They were ignoring some of the looks that they were getting from the people. Dr. Ryuu, however, paused near one man who was rushing up to him.

"Dr. Ryuu, they came back looking for you."

The doctor sighed, looking very tired, in deed. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers before nodding. "Did they go into the mansion?"

The man nodded. "Yes, sir. But they came back out just as quick. Apparently the monsters in there scared them back out."

Dr. Ryuu nodded as he glanced over at Rigal and Loz. "All right. Thank you, Bartie." He started walking towards the Shinra Mansion. The three men hurried into the house and went up the stairs.

"Who's after you?" Loz asked as he followed.

Dr. Ryuu shook his head as he glanced over his shoulder at him. "Just some really bad people, Loz. They've been on my trail for years. Since the fall of Shinra Inc. I'm pretty sure I know who's behind all of those interesting monsters you've been seeing around. But I'm not exactly sure. That's why I have been going out when I should be hiding."

Rigal nodded with a scowling look. "Yeah. That's another thing that I want to talk to you about, Doctor. How many times have I told you to wait till I get back?"

Dr. Ryuu sighed shaking his head before looking at him. He stopped in front of a stone wall in one of the rooms. "Rigal, I know you mean well. But you must remember, I am 40 years old now. I can take care of myself."

Rigal rolled his eyes. "You're not going to be saying that when they catch you." He grumbled.

Loz tilted his head. "Who is they?"

The two looked at him before they looked at one another. Rigal then nodded. "He's not like them, Doctor. He can be trusted."

The doctor finally nodded as he looked back at Loz. "Before we tell you, I must ask you something. Would you mind?"

The silver haired man shook his head. "Ask away."

Dr. Ryuu nodded. "Are you a Sephiroth clone?"

Loz blinked a few times before shaking his head. "I'm a remenant. Or that's what Kadaj said we are. I have no idea what it means."

Dr. Ryuu nodded as he folded his arms. "I see." He then looked up at the tall silver haired man. "A remnant is a remainder of something. Like leftovers. Like say that if a monster lost an arm then died, it's arm would still be a remnant. You must be a remnant of Jenova. Therefore I can't tell you what I know." He turned around and started to walk away but stopped when Loz spoke up.

"I'm not from mother. Kadaj said that we were remnants of Sephiroth. And I want to know who sent those monsters to kill me." He said in a tone that almost demanded it.

There was a long pause before Dr. Ryuu turned back around, looking Loz over. He then slowly nodded. "All right. Come with me."

They entered the secret labatory after Dr. Ryuu had shown them how to open the door. It wasn't much of a labatory anymore. It looked like a fire had completely destroyed everything and it was more like ruins. However, there was a part of the labatory that looked like it had been rebuilt. Loz had to bow his head a little since he was so tall. Dr. Ryuu lead him over to the newer part of the lab where there was a computer sitting on desk. There was also another large table where it was clear that the scientist had been working.

"What happened to this place?" Loz asked as he looked around. He glanced down at Bear, who was sniffing around for anything.

Rigal looked at him. "Years ago, right after the fall of the Shinra company, there was a terrible fire here. Or so that's Dr. Ryuu told me. Everyone was killed in it."

Loz slowly nodded. "Okay. But why do you hide here? This place is a wreck."

Both Rigal and Dr. Ryuu smiled over at him as they began moving things around. "I hide here because this is a secret lab. Only a various few knows about its whereabouts. And most of those few are dead. There is probably only one person that I know that is still alive. Though I had heard he died a while ago." He shook his head. "That would be President Rufus Shinra. I know for a fact that he's still in Midgar and alive. The others, well, I'm not exactly sure if they are alive or not. And if they are alive, at least one in particular, he'll come after me if he knew I was hiding here. That's why I have Rigal here." He sighed again. "Though, I'm not so entirely sure if he's ready to fight such a man."

Loz tilted his head. "Who is this man?"

Rigal shook his head as he gave Ryuu a square look. "He won't say. All he says about this man is that he is very dangerous and very insane. He won't even give me a name."

The doctor looked at him as he pulled off his robes, to reveal that he was wearing a lab coat under it. "Rigal, I have already told you. It's best if you didn't know who it was. Besides, he's probably dead." He shrugged as he began running some tests on the computer.

Just then there was a small flash of red light. All three looked up at an alarm in the corner before Rigal pulled out his gun. "Looks like we have some intruders." He said seriously.  
Loz looked around. "Intruders, huh?"

Dr. Ryuu quickly typed on his computer before images on them began coming up. It was a security system on his computer. There were people in the manison.

"What is this?" He asked with confusion.

Both Rigal and Loz bent over behind him to get a look. The silver haired man immediately recognized some of the people. "Hey! I know them!"

The other two looked at him.

"You do? Who are they?" Rigal asked.

Loz shook his head. "They're just a bunch of people I met in Midgar one time. They're my brother's friends. I fought them though. Those three anyway." He said pointing. He had pointed at a pretty young woman and two men. Both men were wearing dark blue uniforms, though one was a little messy. "I think her name was Tifa, or something."

Dr. Ryuu frowned a little before typing something. There was a small click. "I'm locking down the secret lab. I don't want them coming here."

Rigal nodded. "You want me to go make sure the secret door locked okay?' He asked. Ryuu nodded. "Yes, That would be nice, Rigal. And if they figure out how to open it and try to come here, stop them if you must. But I don't want anyone to find out about me."

Loz nodded as he started to follow Rigal. "I'll go with. Bear, stay here with the doc." He said. The dog just barked and laid down, watching his master leave with Rigal.

* * *

"Wow, I almost forgot about how this place gives me the creeps." Tifa said as she looked around. The others nodded as they looked around. 

Reno then bent down, looking at footprints in the dust. "Looks like someone's been here."

Cid leaned against the doorframe, shaking his head. "Sh-it! That's nothing. There's a bunch of friggen people in town. This place would only attract them a friggen bit."

Aeris shook her head as she held Denzel's hand, who was looking around. "There's monsters in here too. So we've got to remember that." Barret and Reeve both nodded.

Red XIII then started sniffing the ground. "Wait! There's a smell in here. It smells awefully familiar." Everyone just looked at him as they watched him sniff around. The lion/dog creature then stepped back with alarm. "Sephiroth..."

Everyone looked around with the same amount of alarm. "Sephiroth?! He's here?!" Reeve said. Cid shook his head as he straightened. "Hell! If that friggen dude is here, I'm getting the hell outta here! I'm waiting for Cloud to show up!" He said, hurrying towards the door. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! Same here! I don't want to fight that guy without Spike." Barret said as he started towards the door. Everyone started to follow.

Tifa paused though as she looked around. "Sephiroth...here?" She whispered before she followed the others.

"So, what are we going to do until Cloud gets here?" Reeve asked once they were back outside. Everyone shook their heads. Reno stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Well, I think I'm going to train a little. Kill a few monsters to pass by the time. Who knows when Strife'll show up."

Everyone nodded. "Yeah, he's got a point. I think I'll do the same. I've got to blow some steam off anyhow." Barret grumbled.

Tifa looked towards her old house. "I see. Well, I want to get some rest. Come on, Denzel. Aeris, you want to come with?" She asked. Aeris nodded and the three walked towards her house.

Cid rubbed his chin as he shouldered his spear. "Well, the airship'll need a tune up. I thought I heard some rattling."

Reeve nodded as he went over to his side. "I think I'll come with you. Cait Sith could use a little tuning up himself."

Everyone nodded. "All right. So if anyone sees Spikey, just hollar. We'll come running." Barret said as he went off with Reno and Rude. The group went off in their own ways.

* * *

As for the spoken three, they were just arriving in Cosmos Canyon. It was getting on about noon now. They had travelled well into the night and straight onto noon. So it was very clear that they were very exhausted from no sleep. But they were nearly there. 

"We'll stop here for a while and rest. It would be smart if we did." Cloud said as they rode up the slope to the Canyon.

Both Rufus and Yazoo nodded. "I agree." The silent silver haired man said.

They finally arrived without any trouble at all. No monster had attacked. The people of Cosmos Canyon instantly recognized Cloud and rushed over to greet them. "Master Strife! What a pleasure to see you!" One of the elders said. Cloud only nodded as he dismounted his bike, followed by Rufus and Yazoo.

"Are you here to see Nanaki? If you are, you are unfortunate. He's not here." one elder asked.

Cloud just looked at the one Elder that said that. "Where is he?"

One of the men shook their head. "Mr. Highwind stopped by on his way to Midgar, sir. So Nanaki went with him. I'm not sure when he'll be back."

Cloud only nodded. "We need rest for a while. We have a little ways to go before we continue on. Is there any rooms available at the inn?"

The inn keeper stepped forward and shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Strife. The inn is in the process of being remodeled. So there's no rooms at the moment." Cloud glanced over at Rufus when he silently groaned. "But, you can rest inside Nanaki's home, Mr. Strife. Nanaki wouldn't mind at all if it was you. There's even room for your two friends." One of the High Elders said.

Cloud frowned at the word friends but decided not to say anything about it. He only nodded. "Thanks. We'll do that." Everyone nodded. Cloud then turned to Rufus and Yazoo, nodding them to follow him. "Come on."

The three men walked up the many stairs and ladders to reach the observatory ontop of the mountain.

When they reached it, Cloud pointed at the ladder to go upstairs. "There's two beds upstairs. You two can use them. I'll rest down here on the couch."

Yazoo folded his arms. "You know, you could rest on one of the beds upstairs."

Cloud gave him a look. "I don't think so. I want to keep any eye on you. So go rest." The silver haired man only rolled his eyes before going up.

Rufus paused before turning to Cloud. "Do you think it's going to be okay resting in the same room as that guy?"

Cloud just set his swords down on the floor right by the couch and sat down on it. "If he kills you, I'll avenge your death." he said sarcastically. Rufus frowned at him with a moody look. "Oh, thanks." He said just as sarcastically then he went up.  
The blonde only chuckled to himself before laying on the couch, his hand on one of his swords just in case. He slowly drifted off to sleep.

In his dreams, he dreamed of darkness all around him. He was confused on where he was. But then warm flames surrounded him, not burning him at all. He couldn't help but look around at the flames, wondering why they weren't burning him. Then he heard an unearthly cry. It was so haunting, yet so beautiful. Cloud could feel his soul soothing just by listening to it. It sounded like singing almost. He could almost see something forming in the flames. Like a bird rising from them.  
But then black water began to fall from above. There was a painful cry from the very same creature.  
Cloud watched in horror as the black rain seemed to poison the bird of flames and wicked icy blue eyes opened and stared right at him.

_"Cloud...Strife..."_

He jerked awake when he heard a metallic click as if someone was opening a door or aiming a gun at him. He didn't know how long he had been asleep for only that when he jerked awake, he picked up his sword, ready to swing if he had to.

It was Yazoo, cleaning his Gunblade. He didn't seemed bothered that Cloud was pointing his sword at him. He only glanced at him before going back to cleaning the gunblade.  
There was a long pause between the two before Yazoo held up his gunblade, looking it over. "It's not as great as my old ones were but they'll still do."

Cloud kept his sword up a little though before he decided to lower it. "What are you doing?"

Yazoo went back to wiping the gunblade. "What does it look like? I'm preparing for a battle."

Cloud's eyes narrowed a little at his response. "You planning on fighting someone?" He asked seriously.

Yazoo shook his head. "Not someone. Some...thing." He then paused for a long moment before looking at Cloud. "You were crying out in your sleep, that's what woke me. What was it that bothered you?"

Cloud looked away, trying to remember his dream. He then shook his head. "Nothing." He said before standing up. He picked up his sword and slid it into the scabbard behind his back. He paused for a second before looking at Yazoo. "How long were we asleep for?"

Yazoo shook his head. "It's dark now outside, so for most of the day. Rufus is still resting upstairs. I couldn't rest anymore. I was..." He paused. "I was having some interesting dreams." He finished.

Cloud stared at him. "What kind of dreams? Nightmares?"

Yazoo slowly shook his head as he looked away with a faraway look on his face. "They weren't about me. They were about something else. Someone else. I don't know what she was. She's either human or a bird." He said softly.

Cloud was taken back in surprise to hear that. "What kind of bird?" He asked suddenly.

Yazoo looked up at him. "A bird of fire."

There was a long silence between them again before Cloud slowly nodded. "I...I had the same dream then."

Yazoo didn't seem to surprised though he didn't expect it. He only nodded as he stood up. "Whatever is tormenting that bird, is tormenting me. And possibly you. I think it's tormenting my brothers as well. I can feel them close by. They are not very far from where we are. I just know they are." He turned away from Cloud, holstering his gunblade. His eyes turned to the door near the couch. "What's that door go to?"

Cloud looked over at the door before shaking his head. "It's a machine. A special machine. It's hard to explain it so I won't. You can't go in there." He said turning away and starting towards the other door to go out.

"I've already gone in there."

The blonde jerked back around, giving Yazoo a look. "What?" He asked sternly. His eyes narrowed on Yazoo in a dangerous way.

The silver haired man only shook his head. "I wasn't in there long. And I didn't take the black orb if that's what you're worried about. It's still in there." He reassured him.  
Cloud didn't seem to believe him though. He gave Yazoo another look before he went over to the door to the machine and walked in. The silver haired man just watched him before following him to the door.

The blonde looked around the room before spying the Black Materia safely hovering in the air like it should have been. Around it was the four large Materia. Cloud gave a nod before turning away to leave. He paused to see Yazoo standing in the door way. He readied himself just in case the silver haired man was going to attack. But he didn't. Yazoo only tilted his head away from him before stepping aside to let him out.

Cloud watched him for a minute before stepping out after him. "You really don't want to fight me, do you?" He asked in a low voice.

Yazoo only glanced at him before looking away again. "No. I don't. I don't know why I'm still alive but it's not to fight you. I know that much. It might have something to do with that bird of fire that we keep seeing. Or the woman it's with." He then went over and looked out the window at the night sky.

The two stood in silence before they heard someone coming. They looked at the ladder to see that it was only Rufus. He still looked a little tired but much better than he had before. He only looked at the two before nodding. "So, are we going?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Let's get going." He said turning away. The other two nodded and they walked out of the observatory.

The three gave their thanks to the people of Cosmos Canyon before heading out. They rode over the plains that seperated the canyon to the river then started across the field to where Cloud's hometown was standing.  
They ended stopping for a moment because Cloud wanted to. He just stared at the town a few miles from where they were.  
Rufus and Yazoo only glanced at one another before looking back at Cloud. "You going to be okay?" The silver haired man asked.

Cloud didn't answer at the second. He only looked right at the town before turning to the two. "I'll be fine. It's been a while since I was last here." He said before riding on. Rufus and Yazoo quickly followed.

They reached the town within minutes at the speed they had been going. None of them had noticed the airship sitting on the other side of the town. Or the three travellers on foot just barely entering the town theirselves. The three only rode onto the mansion and parked their bikes in the front, looking up at the dark mansion.

Rufus shivered as he just stared up at it. "You know, I never liked this house. It was always so creepy."

Cloud smirked over at him. "Was it because you found out that there was a man sleeping in a coffin in the basement or was it because of its history?"

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Come on. The entrance to the lab is inside." He said. Cloud frowned now giving him a questioning look. "What?" He asked in confusion. Rufus nodded with a dull look on his face. "Believe me when I say this. I couldn't believe it myself when they showed me where it was." He said before dismounting his bike and walking towards the mansion. Cloud and Yazoo glanced at one another before doing the same and following Rufus inside.

The three of them walked up to the secret passage and went through the basement. Cloud was getting a little confused about where Rufus was leading them but he didn't say anything. He just followed the Ex-President with the silver haired man right behind him. None of them talked while they went to the basement library.

"Rufus, where are you taking us?" Cloud asked.

Rufus only glanced over his shoulder at him. "Over here." he said leading him to a bookshelf in the back of the library. He then reached up and pulled a book.

It only surprised Cloud to see that the book shelf rolled away to reveal a dark secret passage. "You've got to be kidding me. That thing was there the entire time?" He asked. Rufus looked at him with a smirk. "Yeah. Surprising, isn't it?"

Yazoo chuckled as he started to walk into the passage, pausing for a minute. "So this leads to that secret labatory you were talking about earlier?"

Rufus nodded as he started to lead them down the darkened hall. "Yes. But there's probably not much of the lab anymore. There was a terrible fire years ago. Right before Shinra was destroyed. The fires killed everyone but one person. An assisstant to Dr. Ryuu. From what I learned the man had said that a bird of fire had started the fires." He didn't notice Cloud and Yazoo quickly looking at one another when he said that.

"What happened after that?" The blonde swordsman asked.

Rufus shook his head. "I never came back here since my first visit. This is my second time visiting this place. All I know that most of the lab was burned to cinders. It's all ruins now. So I don't know what we can find here. So don't get your hopes up."

Cloud shook his head. "I wasn't. I just want to look around."

The three made their way into what looked like a long hallway of the lab. There was half burnt desk sitting in front of a large door way, where they could see the remains of a burned door.

"This is where the security guards used to sit. They would make sure that no unauthorized visitors could go through." Rufus explained as they walked.

He lead them down another hallway that was slightly collapsed, pausing in front of a room. There was broken glass all around them. And the room that they were standing in front of was what looked like a prison cell. It was practically gone now. Burns ran all the way up to where the cieling used to be. There was a look on Rufus's face, as if he was remembering something.

"Rufus?" Cloud asked as he stepped closer.

The Ex-President just glanced over his shoulder at him before looking back into the cell. "This is where I first seen her." He said suddenly.

Cloud and Yazoo looked even more confused. "What?" They both asked at once.

Rufus shook his head as his face hardened. He remembered that day when he found out about it. "The Phoenix Project. This is where I first seen her." He then sighed and began to tell them about it.

**Flashback**

Rufus Shinra sat in the helecoptor, looking off towards the mountains. He had finally arrived on the next continent and was heading towards the West to find out more information about something called the Temple of the Ancients. But of course, he did decide to make one stop. He had heard word of a hidden lab in Nibelheim and he was curious about it.

Why hadn't anyone told him about this lab? No one ever said a word about it. In a way, it made him angry that his employees had even hid it from him. He was also anxious into seeing what they were doing in the lab.

He was also riding with Palmer and Scarlet. They had wanted to come along with him to see the sights. Though, he was pretty sure that Scarlet was only coming to try and seduce him like she had with his father. He knew just as well as the others that she had slept with his father once. The very thought of him pull a face. He swore on his life, that if she even tried anything with him, he would shoot her. He would have let Dark Nation just eat her and tear her to bits but unfortunately, his pet panther had been killed by that rotten Ex-Soldier, Cloud Strife.

"Mr. President! We're arriving!" The pilot called to him over the loud noise.

Rufus only looked up at him before sitting up taller. "Very good. Proceed to land." He said in his most strict tone.

The pilot nodded. "Yes, sir!" And the helecoptor began to lower itself.

As soon as it was down, he climbed off with Palmer and Scarlet and made his way towards the lab where the secret door was. There was a few guards awaiting him along with a man Rufus had never met before. The man was no doubt a scientist since he was wearing a white lab coat over his cloths. Rufus looked the man over as he walked towards him. The man was not too old. He was probably in his mid thirties or so. His mousy brown hair fell over those kind looking brown eyes, looking back into his own icy blue eyes.

"Mr. President Shinra! I'm so glad that you could come." The man said offering his hand.

Rufus didn't take it as he stared coldly at the man. "It's President Rufus. Not Shinra. I just came to observe your work and see what you're doing here, that's all. So don't try to get on my good side, scientist."

The man didn't seem phased at his cold interior at all. He just smiled warmly as he lowered his hand. "My apologies, sir. I am the Head of this labatory, Dr. Ryuu Hojo." He said giving his head a respectful bow.

That did surprise Rufus quite a bit. He frowned and tilted his head in a curious way. "Hojo?"

The man only faintly smiled. "Yes. I am Professor Hojo's younger brother, sir. I suppose no one explained it to you."

Rufus shook his head. "No. I wasn't aware that Professor Hojo had a brother. As I was unaware of this labatory." He said, putting a little edge to his tone.

Dr. Ryuu only nodded. "So I've heard, sir. I'm terribly sorry that no one informed you. I would have done it myself if I would have known. Forgive me, Mr. President."

Rufus only shook his head as he nodded to the doors. "Just take us inside. I want to see the lab now."

Dr. Ryuu nodded. "Yes, sir." He turned and lead them into the labatory.

They walked through the halls of the labatory, listening to Dr. Ryuu explain about what they were doing in the lab. Rufus's curiousity only perked up a little more as he listened.

When they were passing by some cells where the scientists were keeping some of the experiements, Rufus happened to look onto his right and immediately stopped in his tracks. His eyes lit up a little to see a young woman sitting on a couch inside the room, reading a book. He was taken by surprise as he just stared at her.

_"She was quite exquisite, very beautiful. I had never really seen a more beautiful girl, besides Tifa Lockhart, which I will admit that I did find her attractive. But this girl, she was no older than I was. At least 18 or 19 years old. When I asked about her, Dr. Ryuu then began to explain to me about a special project that he had been working on for many years. The Phoenix Project."_

"The Phoenix Project is just a study of immortality. We have been trying to create a perfect warrior that can die, yet be reborn." Dr. Ryuu told Rufus.

The young President didn't look at him as he reached up and gently tapped on the glass. Immediately, the young girl looked up with slight surprise, but looked even more surprised to see him there.

"This girl, you see, is one we have been keeping her since she was very little. Her name is Eden, if you want to know. She is the main subject to the Phoenix Project. What we have done to her is train her to a very extreme level. She is very smart, very swift and can be deadly when she is forced to fight. We have enhanced all of her senses to become the perfect warrior." Then the doctor sighed making the young President glance at him. "However, one of the experiments that we have done to her is combine her with a demon."

Rufus shot Dr. Ryuu a very cold look. "You what?!" He shouted.

The doctor was taken back a little by the change in mood of the President. Even some of the other workers were surprised.

"We...we combined Eden with a demon called the Phoenix demon. It is the source of her power, Mr. President. If Eden was killed, she could be reborn using the Phoenix. We are planning on having her fight to the..." The doctor was saying.

The President shook his head as he turned and glared at him. "No! That, I will not allow, Dr. Ryuu! I will not authorize you to killing this girl just to see if the project worked or not! So this is what you and Professor Hojo has been doing for the past twenty years. You have been doing inhumane experiements on children, is that right?" He practically shouted.

Dr. Ryuu didn't flinch as some would. Instead he looked very thoughtful. "I'm afraid so, Mr. President. But I must say, sir, that I was against the experiments on Eden. I didn't like it. But it was Professor Hojo who demanded it. Since he was the Head of the Science Department."

Rufus nodded still glaring at the doctor. "That's right, Dr. Ryuu. He **was **the Head. But he isn't now. Instead, he has left Shinra. And you were in charge of this project. But not anymore." He looked around at some of the shocked looks on the workers's faces. "As of now, this project will close! I will not tolerate experiments on humans like this." He looked back at the thoughtful look on Dr. Ryuu's face. "As for this girl, Eden, she will be released from Shinra. She will not be an experiment any longer. Do I make myself clear?" He asked coldy.

Dr. Ryuu only nodded. "Yes, sir. I do understand." He said before looking into the window at the young girl. He gave her a very faint smile as if trying to tell her something.

Rufus nodded before glancing back at the girl. There was a confused but cold look on her face. It was clear that she was not happy about something. He didn't really care about what she might have been upset about. Only that this operation would cease and she would be set free.

Then Rufus turned away and started down the hall. "Dr. Ryuu!" He called over his shoulder.

The doctor looked back at him before quickly following. "Yes, sir?"

Rufus glanced over at him as he stormed through the halls. "As of now, you and everyone in this lab is fired. I am very angry that no one told me about this place or about this experiment. You will make sure that girl is released and then you will report to Midgar for a hearing to see if you deserve to be called a Shinra scientist or not." He stepped outside and started towards the helecoptor. He only stopped to look at the doctor. "As for that girl, when she is freed, make sure she goes to Junon. I would like to meet with her to question her about her experiences with this lab." He didn't really mean it by that. He actually just wanted to meet her.

And Dr. Ryuu seemed to guess that much because he smiled a very sly smile. It was like he could see right through Rufus Shinra. He gave a nod as he backed away. "Yes, sir. I'm on it. And thank you for coming to visit, sir."

There was another message under that one. Rufus could almost detect a word of deep thanks. He wasn't sure if Dr. Ryuu was actually thanking him for visiting the lab or thanking him for shutting down the project. He would have to figure it out for himself later. He only gave the doctor a look of warning before climbing onto the helecoptor. He looked back once as it began to make its way from the lab.

_"Unfortunately, I never got to meet her. Only a day later, I found out that the labs had burned down and everyone was killed. However, Dr. Ryuu had been away so he wasn't in the fire. But the girl was. No one ever found her so it was clear that she had died. I did hear that Dr. Ryuu had been heart broken over her death. Apparently, there was something between them that I never really found out about."_

**End Flashback**

Rufus blew out a sigh as he looked into the cell. He could see Cloud staring inside as he did. Yazoo just stared at the ground with a thoughtful look on his face.

"So, there was another project besides the Jenova Project?" Cloud asked.

Rufus slowly nodded. "Yes. I'm not sure if they actually succeeded and they probably didn't. Immortality is not something that can actually come true. Not through science anyway. I know that for a fact."

Cloud nodded before looking down the hall.

There was a long silence before he grabbed his handle of his sword. Yazoo and Rufus had heard it too. There were footsteps coming their way. All three immediately yanked out their weapons, ready to fight if they had to. "Hurry and hide." Cloud whispered.

The three scattered and hid behind things. They could hear whispers but nothing else. Cloud and Rufus then looked at one another, thinking the same thing. They needed a distraction.  
So the Ex-President stood up and slowly made his way down the hall. He made sure that he didn't step on any glass to make noise. He didn't want whoever it was to immediately attack without warning him first. But then he did just as he was about to turn the corner.

Suddnely, someone did strike.

Rufus had to leap back just as a blade came swinging around the corner towards his head.  
"Whoa!" Someone exclaimed from around the corner, clearly a guy.  
But the young President didn't do anything to find out who it was. He just grabbed the hand that was holding the blade and threw the owner against the wall, before pinning them there.

"Ouch!" A young woman's voice cried from the impact.

Rufus stopped from shooting the person in the head with his shotgun. "Huh?" He muttered before his eyes snapped open wide. He felt the tip of a blade at his neck.

"Let. Her. Go." Someone behind him said very coldly.

Rufus just stood there, not doing anything to move.

"Wait! I know who that is! Shinra, what the hell are you doing here?!" A very familiar perky voice rang out from somewhere behind him.

"Yuffie?" Rufus heard Cloud call out.

"Huh?! Cloud! You're here! Hey! Isn't that...holy shit! You're nuts! You're travelling with him! What's he doing alive anyway?!" Yuffie exclaimed.

But there was no answer. Instead the blade left Rufus's neck so he released whoever he was holding to quickly back away to where Cloud and Yazoo were standing. But he immediately stopped when he saw the face of the woman he had pinned. The very angry and annoyed look on her face. She even looked surprised to see him.

But not as surprised Cloud was to see his old friend standing right there next to her. "Zack?!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII:**

There was a long pause between all of them while they all stared at one another with surprise or confusion. Cloud was staring at Zack as if he was looking at a ghost. He couldn't believe that he was right there in front of him. He didn't believe it. This had to some kind of joke. It seemed that way for Rufus too. He was staring at the red haired warrioress with surprise. He had heard that she had been dead and now she was right there in front of him. Eden just stared back at him in confusion. Of course, she recognized him. How could she not? It was just, she had never ran into him since that year she was to be freed. She didn't know what to make of it. He had ordered her freedom, of course. But had he ordered her death too? She didn't know. And she didn't really care. She wasn't going to give him a chance if he had. As for Yuffie, she just stared at Yazoo with suspicion.

"Cloud?" Zack finally spoke up.

Cloud slowly shook his head as he stared at his old friend. "I must have hit my head or something. Because there is no way you can be alive. I saw you die, Zack. I watched the light in your eyes fade away. You can't still be alive."

The other four just looked at the two old friends, facing one another. Zack finally nodded. "Yeah, Cloud. You did watch me die. But...it's kind of hard to explain. So please don't ask me to explain it."

Cloud shook his head as he just stared at him. "Zack, the only way I can understand is if you do explain it."

There was another pause before Zack shook his head. "Cloud, that's the thing. I really don't know how to explain it. All I know is that the Lifestream returned me to the Planet. And that's it." He then looked over at Yazoo, who was staring back looking confused. "Yazoo..."

Everyone else looked at the silver haired man. There seemed to be a connection between the two. They were looking at each other as if they knew one another.

"Zack? Yazoo? You two know each other?" Cloud asked.

Yazoo shook his head. "Not really. I just have a feeling that I've met him before."

Zack nodded. "Yeah. Same here." He then rubbed his head. "Damn it, I'm getting a headache now."

Rufus then decided it was his turn to speak. His eyes just went to Eden. "What are you doing here? I thought you were dead."

Eden gave him a look as if telling him to shut up. "What am I doing here?! What the hell are you doing here?" She asked in a moody way.

Everyone just watched the two, practically having a face off. Rufus shook his head. "We're here looking for answers. That's why the hell we're here. I was told that you died in the fires. How are you alive?"

Eden glared at him. "I got out before it could kill me, okay? But that's none of your business. You know, I would love to kill you right now. Did you know that?" She asked hotly.

Rufus frowned at her. "What? Why? I set you free, remember? Or didn't Dr. Ryuu tell you that?!" He asked in a very dark way.

"Yo, peoples! Stop arguing, okay! Would you care to explain what the hell is going on?!" Yuffie asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Rufus, who is this?"

Rufus only glanced at him. "This is Eden, Cloud. The one I just told you about." He said. Cloud looked surprised to hear that. "The Eden? The one from the Phoenix Project?!"

Eden shot Rufus a look. "You told them about me?! How dare you!" She started forward with her hand on her weapon. Rufus quickly stepped back and Yazoo stepped forward, pulling his gunblade. Zack and Yuffie had done the same.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Cloud said sharply.

Yazoo and Eden just looked at one another. The silver haired man didn't aim his weapon though as he would have. He looked very hesitant as he stepped forward. "I don't want to hurt you." He said quietly.

Eden finally remembered him. "You?"

"Okay! Now I'm getting freaked out! How is that everyone knows one another?! Come on, people!! Just tell me!" Yuffie screeched. Everyone winced at her high pitched voice.

Suddenly there was a click and everyone spun around only to see that they were at gunpoint by two guns. A man was standing in the shadows, looking at them. "Don't anyone move or I will be forced to shoot." He said coldly. All six just stared at the new arrival. He was glaring coldly at them all.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Rufus demanded.

The man shot him a look. "I will be asking the questions around here! Not you!"

Before anyone of them could blink, Eden had spun around in a circle and kicked the guns aside. The man looked very startled to see her move so fast but was even more startled when Zack grabbed his arms and threw him against the wall. He cried out in pain on impact, making the guns fire. Luckily none of the six had gotten hit. But the gunshots rang into the air, echoing through out the chamber.

* * *

Loz and Dr. Ryuu jerked around when they heard the gunshots. Bear had jumped from his sleep and began growling. "Rigal!" The scientist cried out before rushing towards the door.

Before he could get there, Loz stopped him. "No! Dr. Ryuu! Stay here! It might be enemies!"

Dr. Ryuu stared down the darkened hall with helplessness. "But he might be hurt." He said worriedly. The silver haired man shook his head. "Rigal can take care of himself. We have to wait here. Bear and I'll protect you if they come." He said. Dr. Ryuu sighed before nodding.

* * *

Zack pinned the man against the rough exterior of the wall with his arms pinned behind his back and his face smashed against the wall. The man cried out again as the Ex-Soldier just held his arms up even tighter.

"Who the hell are you and why did you attack us?!" Rufus demanded.

The man tried to look over his shoulder but it was a little hard to with Zack's forarm against the back of his neck. "If...if you're going to kill me, then do it! But don't you dare...ack! Don't you dare try to harm him!" He snapped against the wall.

Everyone just glanced at one another. "Harm who?" Cloud asked in a stern tone.

The man winced from pain before shaking his head. "I won't say! You just get the hell out of here or...or you'll pay! You're tresspassing on private property!" He snapped at them.

Rufus glared at the man. "Yeah! My property! This is my company's property! So why are you here?!" He demanded.

The man shook his head again. "That's none of your business!" He snapped.

Zack pulled up his arm a little making him wince in pain. Yuffie then pointed down the hall. "Hey! I hear some barks done that way! There must be a dog down there!" She said. Everyone glanced over before looking at the man. "Who's in here with you?" Yazoo asked.

The man just shook his head. "There's no one! I'm...I'm the only one here!"

Zack gave a short harsh laugh. "Yeah, right. He's lying."

Cloud nodded. "I know. I can hear the panic too. Zack, hold him here. Yuffie, Rufus, stay with him. We'll go check it out."

The man began to struggle. "No! Don't!" He exclaimed but Rufus stepped forward and covered his mouth as they kept him pinned against the wall.

Cloud, Yazoo and Eden just nodded before turning and started down the hall. They ignored the man as he tried to struggle with Zack and Rufus. They knew that they could take care of him. The three just slowly crept down the hall, with their weapons out and ready.

They finally came to a lit room where it was clear that someone was doing science experiments. But there didn't seem to be anyone in there. Not even a dog.

Cloud glanced over at Eden and Yazoo. "Wait in the door way. I'll go." He whispered.

The two nodded and watched him as he slowly walked into the room. They kept their eyes open, waiting for any sign of attack. Cloud looked around as he made his way over to the desk with the computer. He stepped up to the computer, looking it over before he jerked around when there was a snarl.

Suddenly something leapt on him, knocking him to the ground. The blonde quickly kicked it off, sending it flying across the room. He quickly stood up with his sword ready. He looked over to see a snarling blood hound dog. His eyes narrowed as he stood up. "Hmph. Bad dog." He said as he stood up.

"Hurt my dog and I will kill you."

Cloud spun around only having to duck as a large concrete slab came flying at him. The slab missed by inches but the fist didn't. Cloud grunted as he went flying across the room.

"Cloud!" He heard Yazoo yell out.

Cloud hit the wall hard but managed to stand up.

"Run! I'll take care of this!" A very familiar voice yelled.

Cloud jerked around only to see the backside of the tall silver haired man, Loz. He even saw a man in dark black robes starting to run towards an opening but he never made it. Because Eden was on him very quickly. She pratically phased right through Loz and grabbed a hold of the fleeing man. The man cried out in shock as he was spun around and thrown to the ground. The red haired warrioress had her gun aiming at him in minutes.

"Wait! Stop, Loz!"

Loz spun around hearing that voice. His eyes widened when he saw that it was his younger brother. There was a very long pause except for the snarls coming from Bear, who had Cloud covered. Cloud on the other hand stood up and was ready to slash the dog.

"Yazoo! It's you!"

He turned his head when he heard Loz speak up again. Loz and Yazoo were facing one another but none of them looked like they were going to fight each other. In fact, they looked happy to see one another.

Then the older silver haired man looked over at Cloud, looking quite surprised. "Big brother?"

Cloud frowned at that but didn't say anything. He didn't have the chance to because he had heard a very startled voice from across the room.

"Eden?!"

Eden was just glaring down at the man in the black robes, trying to see past the scarf covering his face. But she did recognize that voice. Her face twisted a little in surprise as she stepped back away from the man.

The man quickly sat up, looking up at her. "Eden! Is it really you?!" He gasped.

The red haired woman tilted her head as she just looked at the man. "Who are you?" She asked almost in a demanding tone.

The man just reached up, touching his scarf for a second before quickly pulling it off; to reveal his true identity.

Eden stepped back looking very alarmed when she saw the man was. "Dr. Ryuu!"

There was a very long pause between all of them as the two just stared at one another. Cloud nodded over to him. "You're Dr. Ryuu?"

The man sitting before Eden looked over at him before nodding. "Yes. I am." He then looked back at Eden, tears no doubt glistening in his eyes. "Never in my life did I think I would see you again. I learned that you were dead." He looked her over. "My, you've grown since I last seen you." He said softly.

Eden slowly lowered her gun, still holding it in her hand. They're attention was suddenly stolen away when they heard a cry of pain. They all turned around to see Zack, Yuffie and Rufus roughly pushing the man forward, the two men holding onto him tightly.

Loz stepped towards them. "Rigal! Let him go!" He snapped.

Zack only gave him a look before looking around. "Huh, looks like we missed a party." He said. Loz growled at him. "Let. Him. Go! Now!" He snapped. Yazoo looked over and nodded. "Rufus, just let him go."

There was a pause before Zack and Rufus looked over at Cloud, who looked back. He then nodded and they let Rigal go.

Rigal quickly moved away from them and towards Dr. Ryuu, but stopped again when Eden pointed her gun towards him. "Don't move!" She snapped. But she looked back at the kind doctor, when he stood up and gently touched her arm. "Eden, it's all right. He's my friend." He then looked around the room. "Can we please all calm down and we can find out who is who. Of course, I already know Eden and President Rufus Shinra. But who are the rest of you?"

There was a long silence before Cloud nodded towards the snarling dog. "If this dog is one of yours, call it off or I will kill it."

Loz shot him a look. "Don't you dare, brother!" He snapped.

Yazoo touched his brother's shoulder. "Loz, it's okay. He's with me. Call him off."

Loz only glanced at him before nodding. "Bear, down." He said. The dog immediately obeyed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Yuffie demanded.

No one spoke right away before Cloud turned towards Dr. Ryuu. "Dr. Ryuu?" He asked.

The doctor nodded again. "That's me."

Rufus nodded. "We know it's you. We have business with you, Doctor. We've come a long way, looking for you."

Dr. Ryuu looked over at him before pulling off the robes. "Business, hm? Maybe we all should sit down and be a little more friendly to one another."

Cloud nodded. "All right."

After everyone was settled down, they all began to explain why they were there. Eden, however, didn't say anything. She just stared at the man that had raised her from a child, wondering if this was all a dream or not. She let Zack explain what they were doing there though. She just kept quiet. Then Cloud explained to Dr. Ryuu, why they were. After a while, they were finished.  
There was a long pause while Dr. Ryuu was thinking about what he was going to say. Finally he shook his head as he looked at Cloud. "I'm afraid to say, Cloud, that I am not the one behind these strange and unusual monsters. But I think I know who is. I can't be sure though. Let me see this dust you found."

Cloud nodded before he stepped over to him. He dug into his pocket and then gave the vile to him.

Dr. Ryuu took the vile and looked it over carefully. "Hm. This is strange. These crystals are no doubt Mako crystals. I have seen them countless times in my brother's lab."

Cloud lowered his head a little. "So you are Hojo's brother."

Dr. Ryuu nodded with a faint smile. "I'm sorry to say that I am. But I'm nothing like him. You can say that we may be brothers, but we didn't like each other at all. We were very different from one another."

Cloud tilted his head away while Rufus just stared at him. "So, if you're not the one that's behind the monsters, then who is?"

Dr. Ryuu shook his head as he went over to his computer and began running tests on the dust and crystals. "I'm not sure. But I think it's Hojo, himself. There's only one that could make such monsters. Some of the monsters you spoke about sound like some of his designs that he had planned on making."

Cloud shook his head. "It can't be him. We killed him. We made sure that he was dead. It was Vincent Valentine that had the final blow. And there is no way that Hojo could have survived what he did to him."

Yuffie nodded as she bounced up and down in her spot. "Yeah! Vincent ripped his head off!" She said almost too merrily.

Dr. Ryuu looked over at her in alarm. While Cloud shot her a look. "Yuffie, stop it. Don't get into the details." He warned.

Yuffie scowled as she folded her arms. "It's the truth, Cloud! I'm just stating the facts!"

Rufus rolled his eyes as he folded his own arms. He looked at Eden next. "All right. Let's skip this subject for a moment and get on to Eden. I thought she was dead. Did you know that she was alive?"

Eden gave him a look but didn't say anything.

Dr. Ryuu turned around and looked at the young girl. "No I didn't know she was alive. But it is a fair question though." He went over to Eden's side and sat down next to her. "Eden, I thought you were dead. How is that you lived through that fire?" He asked. Everyone's attention was on her now. Eden glanced over at each one of them before she turned away. She then stood up and started to walk away. The kind doctor looked a little hurt at her reaction. "Eden."

Eden stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. "I'm not the little girl you once knew, Dr. Ryuu. I did die that day." She then glared over at Rufus. "After he ordered my death!" She spat.

Everyone looked at Rufus in surprise, who also looked surprised. "I did what?"

Eden continued to glare at him. "Oh, don't tell me you don't know. One of your stupid people came with direct orders from you. Ever since that visit from you! I was ordered to be terminated." She shot.

No one spoke as they watched her. Rufus then stood up and shook his head. "I didn't order for anyone to be killed. Especially you." He glanced over at Dr. Ryuu, who was giving him a look. "I ordered for you to be freed from imprisonment."

Eden threw her bangs back out of her eyes. "Yeah, right. That's not what the represenitve said." She said sharply before she started to walk away.

The kind doctor stood up quickly. "Eden! Stop. I don't think he made that order. He wanted to speak to you after you were freed. He wouldn't have ordered it."

Eden stopped walking again. "Oh, yeah? Well," She turned around looking very cold. "I almost died because of him. Who else would have made that order?" She asked coldly.

Rufus glared right back at her. "Well I didn't make that order! It was an unauthorized order!" He snapped right back.

"Knock it off! Both of you!" Zack said shooting his friend and the Ex-President a look. "We shouldn't be arguing about who ordered what. We have more important things to be worried about. Like who made those monsters."

Eden just shot him a look before turning away again. Dr. Ryuu sighed as he looked at Eden with sadness. "Eden...you were never like this. What has made you so cold?" He asked softly. Eden was quiet for a minute. She then shook her head. "What has made me this way was when I was betrayed by everyone. Even by you."

The doctor looked surprised at that. "Eden, how could you say that? I would never..."

Eden turned sharply around and glared at him. "You betrayed me when you promised me that nothing bad would happen, Doctor. But things did. You let Hojo do this to me. I never forgave you when you left that day and didn't come looking for us. Believe me, Phoenix is not happy with you at all. At least, she was there to help me." She then turned and stormed out.

Dr. Ryuu sighed sadly and lowered his head. Everyone was just staring at him or the retreating Eden. "What is she talking about, doctor?" Rigal asked finally.

The kind doctor shook his head as he turned away, his hand covering his face. "She lives two lives, Rigal. Her own and a demon's. It was apart of the Phoenix Project. A project started many years ago."

Cloud tilted his head. "What is the Phoenix Project, doctor?"

There was a long silence before Ryuu shook his head. "The Phoenix Project was a study of immortality. I'm sure Rufus may have told you that." He only recieved nods. "We were trying to figure out how to create an immortal warrior. One that could die, yet be reborn. We wanted to create the warrior to not have to use curative spells or phoenix downs. Every time they would die, they would come back to life without nothing to help. It was impossible though. But we manage to do the impossibility. We created a Phoenix demon using a condor egg.  
We did it by using large amounts of Mako energy and Jenova cells. It had been Hojo's idea. That was what created the demon. It was alive before Hojo decided to take over my project. He shouldn't have done it though. He was cruel to the demon and it began to distrust us all. It eventually became ill and it died." The doctor turned back with a faint smile.  
"However, what we tried to do came true. It didn't exactly die. It was reborn into some kind of spirit form. But unfortunately, things became worst. Hojo brought Eden into this.  
From what I learned, Eden was a young girl when she was kidnapped from her home. It had been Sephiroth who took her during the war in Wutai. He brought Eden to us and Hojo decided to make her an important asset to the project. She was six years old when the experiements on her began. I disagreed to use her. It was too inhumane to use a child. But President Shinra ordered it because Hojo had asked for it. I had no choice but to listen.  
The better part was, though, the Phoenix demon may have disliked all of us, it did like her. There was just that something about Eden that made it very protective of her. It would protect her if Hojo tried to harm her with his experiments. They had some kind of bond between one another." Dr. Ryuu gritted his teeth looking very angry now. "But then Hojo had to open his big mouth! He ordered for us to combine Eden and the Phoenix demon. We transfered the demon into Eden's body. It was a very painful operation. Eden was in pain the entire time. And even worst, she shared her own body with an alien like matter. Thus we had the Phoenix Project." He closed his eyes. "The project grew even worst. When Sephiroth was said to be killed, Professor Hojo wanted to combine another project with this one." He turned around and looked right at Loz and Yazoo. "The Jenova Project."

Cloud straightened as did Zack. "You mean, he wanted to make her into Sephiroth clone?!" The black haired man asked seriously.

Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "I don't know what he wanted, Zack. But I knew it was something bad. He gave up on it for a little bit before getting back to demanding for Eden to apart of the Jenova Project. I kept refusing to let it happen. Luckily for Eden, President Shinra had died so Hojo couldn't complain anymore. And Rufus was placed in charge. Well, you know the rest. Rufus came along, wasn't happy with what we were doing and ordered for us to shut the project down and to release Eden." A sly smile then appeared on his face. "Then he asked to meet her personally. I knew from the minute he saw her, he was infatuated with her."

A blush crept onto Rufus's face as he looked away. "Shut up. I was not. I just wanted to know her side of the story."

Everyone either smirked or laughed while Rufus glowered away from them. Yazoo, however, didn't. He just frowned, giving Rufus a look but no one seemed to notice. After a minute, everyone stopped laughing again.  
Dr. Ryuu then sighed as he lowered his head. "While I was away from the lab on business, there was a terrible fire. I heard that Eden had been killed in it. It nearly killed me to think that she was dead." He said sadly.

Rigal tilted his head. "You really cared for her, didn't you, Doctor?"

Dr. Ryuu looked at him before nodding. A very faint smile on his face. "Yes. After having to raise her from six years old to a full grown young woman, I have to say I did think of her as my own child. I watched her grow up every day. And to hear that your child has been killed, well...it does things to you. I spent three years trying to get my mind off of her. But I couldn't."

**"You know, doctor. Eden doesn't blame you one bit." **

All of the men and the ninja theif looked up to see Eden had returned. But there was something different about her. She was faintly smile this time and there was some kind of glow around her.

Dr. Ryuu stood up quickly, facing her. "Phoenix?"

Eden nodded as she walked over. **"Eden didn't want me to say anything but I had to." **Now that she was talking, everyone could hear something different in her voice. It was much sweeter and had this heavenly tone to it.

"You're Phoenix?" Zack asked.

Eden looked over at him and nodded. **"I am."** She looked back at the doctor. **"Dr. Ryuu, Eden really thought you were dead too. She had spent these three years searching for you or for her true identity. We don't blame you. We don't even blame Shinra." **She said as she looked at Rufus then back. **"She wants to let you know, that she had never given up on you. The man who was like a father to her." **She said. Dr. Ryuu faintly smiled at her. "Thank you, Phoenix. Now, put her back in charge. You know how she gets."

The Phoenix inside Eden nodded before the glow vanished. A scowling look appeared on Eden's face. "Don't do that again, Phoenix." She said in a scold. Everyone just smiled.

Suddenly they all heard rocks being kicked across the ground. Everyone jumped up with their weapons in hand. Both Rigal and Loz was at Dr. Ryuu's sides, ready to protect him. They all waited for what was coming down the hall. There was a sound of someone hitting the ground.

"OW! &$$$$& little twerp! Get the hell off of me!"

All three Cloud, Yuffie and Rufus relaxed with growing smiles. They knew that gruff voice from anywhere. "Cid." The blonde said quietly.

"Shut up! It's not my fault you're a clumbsy old man!"

Rufus shook his head with a chuckle. "Sounds like Reno."

At that very second, the spoken person came flying out of the hall and hit the wall hard. "Whoa! Can't you take a joke?!" Reno exclaimed as he stood up and dusted himself off.

Rufus shook his head again with a laugh. "Yeah. That's Reno all right."

Reno turned his head when he heard Rufus say that. A wide grin spread out on his face. "Rufus! There you are! I knew that was my bike outside."

"Rufus is here?!" Came Tifa's voice before she came running out. Her eyes lit up seeing Cloud. "Cloud!" She said happily before rushing over. Cloud quickly slid his sword away to catch her in a hug. "Tifa!" He said with a faint smile. Tifa looked up at him with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Rigal suddenly said.

Everyone turned to look at him only to see Yuffie staring at Tifa with wide eyes then she fainted, falling right into Zack's arms. "Yuffie!" The black haired man cried out as he held her closer to him.

Tifa pulled away looking at Yuffie with concern. Dr. Ryuu walked over to Zack and looked her over before he smiled. His eyes went over to Cloud, who was looking just as concerned. "Don't worry. She's all right. She just fainted."

Everyone all smiled and shook their heads. Cloud looked over to see who else was with Tifa and Reno, only to see that everyone was practically there. Barret, Reeve, Cid, Rude, even surprisingly Denzel. But there was one in particular that caught his attention. Someone standing behind them. He frowned and tilted his head to get a better look. "Huh? Who's that?"

Everyone looked at him before the new arrivals all smiled slyly. Tifa giggled before rushing over to the other group. "Cloud, allow me to introduce you to our new friend. Angel." She said, gently taking the new person's hand and pulling her through their friends.

Just as Yuffie woke up too. "Uh?"

There was a deafening silence between all of them as they just stared at the so called Angel. Cloud had stepped back with such surprise.

"Also known as Aeris." Tifa added after the effect settled in.

"AHHH!" Yuffie cried out before fainting again.

Zack, once again, caught her, looking very dully at having to do it. So he laid her out on the ground before smiling towards Aeris. "Aeris. I knew you would show up some time."

Everyone else looked over at him. It was Tifa's turn to look shocked. "Zack?!" She gasped.

Aeris just smiled at him and shook her head. "Sorry it took me so long getting here." She then turned her eyes onto the stunned to silence Cloud. She smiled warmly at him before walking over. "Hello, Cloud. It's good to see you again." She said softly.

Cloud just tilted his head looking at her in disbelief. "Aeris...But I..." He cut himself off.

Aeris shook her head with a soft smile. "It's okay. It's me. You're not dreaming." She said. Cloud looked over at Tifa, who smiled at him and nodded. He looked over at the others, as if asking them too. They all nodded. "I was stunned too, Spikey. Believe me." Barret said with a smile. Cloud finally smiled as he looked back at Aeris.

"So, what're they friggen doing here and why aren't they friggen dead yet?" Cid asked, nodding over to Loz and Yazoo.

The gentle spell was broke as everyone looked over at the two silver haired men. Barret frowned with a growl deep in his throat while the others looked just as ready to fight. Loz and Yazoo both glanced at one another then back at the new group. Cloud shook his head as he looked over at his friends. "Everyone, calm down. They're with us."

Tifa folded her arms still looking a little uneasy. "Cloud, how can you be so sure?" She asked. Cloud shook his head. "You can't be sure. I don't trust them but they haven't done anything against us yet."

Rigal stepped forward. "You can trust Loz, Cloud. He saved my life from monsters. And he's helping me in protecting Ryuu."

Everyone's eyes were finally on him and the scientist. Reno folded his arms with a raised eyebrow. "And, who are you?"

Rigal shook his head before looking at his friend. The doctor just nodded as he stepped forward. "My name is Ryuu Hojo. I used to be a scientist for Shinra. Alas, I have left the company." He then motioned to Rigal. "This is my hired body guard and friend, Rigal Kahn. He's been making sure that those monsters haven't come after me."

Cloud nodded when he saw the surprised and puzzled look on Tifa's face. "This is the man we came looking for in the first place." He told her.

Cid tilted his head as he chewed on the toothpick. "You really Hojo's &$$# brother? You ain't crazy like that bastard, are ya?" He asked gruffly. Tifa gave him a scowling look. "Cid!"

Everyone just smirked or laughed. Eden, however, just scowled like Tifa. "He isn't like that maniac. He's more kind and gentle!" She snapped.

Dr. Ryuu turned around and rose a hand to calm her down. "Eden, don't."

"So who's the hot babe?" Reno asked. He earned a very dirty look from Eden. If looks could kill, Reno would be dead by now.

Even Zack was slightly glaring at him. "She's not a babe. She's a woman. And if I were you, I would not call her that." He warned.

Reno looked dully at him. "Oh yeah? What're you going to do about it?" He asked sarcastically.

Zack smirked at him as he folded his arms. "Oh, I'm not going to do anything. I'll just let her kill ya."

"Reno, stop it." Rufus said warningly.

Reno only glanced at him before nodding. "Sorry." He muttered.

Rufus shook his head. "It's not me that you should apologize to, Reno. I'm going to warn you right now. Don't piss this girl off. She could kill you in a heart beat. Just trust me on this." He told him.

Tifa pushed her hair back before smiling over at Eden, who was still giving Reno a dark look. "Don't listen to Reno. He just has a big mouth, that's all."

"Hey!" No one paid any attention to Reno.

Eden just looked at the friendly young woman, who walked up to her and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Tifa Lockhart."

Eden just stared at her with mild surprise. "You? You're Tifa Lockhart?"

Zack then clicked his fingers. "Oh that's right! I remember now! You're that tour guide from Nibelheim." He then looked over at Cloud. "Cloud, you will not believe who is still alive!"

Cloud frowned with a dark look on his face. "Let me guess, Drake?"

Zack blinked in surprise before his own face turned stern and he nodded. "Yeah. We ran into him on our way here. He nearly killed me if it wasn't for Eden over there. And Yuffie."

Barret rushed forward. "You've seen my little girl?! Marlene?!" He gasped.

Eden looked over at him and shook her head. "We heard her voice, that's all. When Drake DuCaine showed up, he didn't have her. But she was somewhere in the woods. It was more than likely he had tied her up so she couldn't escape. She's your daughter." She said with a hint of a question.

Barret nodded. "Yes! Why didn't you guys get her back?!" He asked in a rush.

"Barret, we tried." Yuffie spoke up as she sat up in a sitting position.

Zack nodded. "Yeah. We did try get her. Drake was just too fast and too lethal for us. He even set a few monsters on us just so that he could escape. We're really sorry, sir."

Barret just lowered his head and turned away. Cloud walked over and touched his shoulder. "Don't worry, Barret. We will get her back. And this time, I'm going to make sure that Drake stays dead this time."

"Drake DuCaine, right?" Rigal asked.

Cloud looked at him and nodded. "That's right. You know him?"

Dr. Ryuu looked very grave as he nodded. "Yes. We know him all right. He's the one that has been tracking me down. We even had the unpleasant pleasure of meeting him. Apparently his employer is looking for me. For what reason, I don't know. But I have a feeling that it's not to invite me to a tea party. He nearly killed me when he found out who I was."

Rigal nodded, with a stern look. "It was only luck that I was there. I managed to shoot the bastard before he could seriously hurt him. Ever since, we've been on the run from him. That's why we came here."

Dr. Ryuu nodded again. "No one really knows about this lab except a few people. But only three people are alive today that has actually been here before. Eden, Rufus Shinra and myself. So Drake can't possibly know where I am. Unless, he followed one of you."

"And that's exactly what I did."


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm so glad you're all enjoying this story. I can promise you that it will get quite interesting later on. The story will definitely open up a lot more. Here's the quick shout out.**

**Chaxra-san: hehehe. I love doing cliffhangers! It's so fun watching some of the reactions I get. lol. Thank you for your review and enjoy the story. **

**linx79: lol. Yeah, actually they did. Sorry if that got a little jumbled up. It's just they really needed to get together and get on the road to solving the whole mystery, you know. Anyway, thanks for the review and enjoy. **

**AznPuffyHair: Now that's a real interesting name, definitely unique. Thank you for that comment. I'm glad you're enjoying it. There are a few others, but they're not too big. Yes, Kadaj is back, if you don't remember in one of the earlier chapters. As for Jenova...wheeel, we'll just have to see. Of course, the more evil, the better. Mwahahahahaha!!!...okay, shutting up.**

**Now on with the story!

* * *

**

**Chapter XIII:**

Everyone spun around when they heard that voice, every single one had their weapons out. Rigal quickly grabbed Dr. Ryuu and pushed him against the wall for his protection while his guns were in hand. The entire group looked around for the source of the voice but they couldn't see him.

"Who's there?!" Reeve called out.

There was that dark chuckle that made Tifa shiver. "It's him. I know it is." She whispered as she tightened her fists. Cloud nodded. "It's him all right. I recognize that voice. Drake! Come out and hand Marlene over!" He demanded.

There was another short harsh laugh and this time it was from above. Everyone looked up to see someone standing on a rafter. It was Drake DuCaine.

The man only bent down, looking down at the entire group. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Hm." Drake's eyes from under his hood looked over at Cloud. "The third class loser." Then he looked over at Zack. "And the First class moron. What luck. Now I can kill you both and fullfill my revenge." He said before looking at Loz and Yazoo, who both glared up at him. Both of them could sense a deep wickedness from this man and they did not like it. "Oh, I know about you two. You're Sephiroth's clones."

Loz growled up at him. "We are not Sephiroth clones!" He snapped.

Yazoo nodded. "We're just people like you."

Drake snorted as he looked the others over. "Yeah? Well that's not what my employer said. Though I'm not suppose to touch you two, I think I'll kill you anyway."

"Where is my daughter, you son of a bitch?!" Barret growled as he pointed his gun arm at the man in the shadows. Drake just ignored him as he looked over at the others. "Hm. Hell, I think I'll kill all of you. It should be fun. For me anyway."

Cloud glared. "Drake! Where is Marlene?! What did you do with her?! And who is your employer?!" He demanded.

Drake looked back at Cloud with a smirk before he lowered his hood to let them see his face. "The girl is safe, Cloud. Don't you worry about her. She might have a headache though when she wakes up. I'm afraid I did hit her a lot harder than I meant her."

"SON OF A BITCH!!" Barret roared before firing off his gun arm. He wasn't exactly the only one to have outburst. Everyone was practically yelling with rage.

"You friggen prick! I should shove my spear up your ass and fry your friggen brains over a fire!" Cid snarled as he yanked out his spear.

However, Barret's reign of bullets never touched Drake. They ripped the rafter apart but not him. He had vanished from the wooden beam, making everyone blink in surprise. "Huh?!" Barret asked as he stopped shooting.

Suddenly, there was a flash of black on his right, kicking him hard away from where he was standing. He went flying to the ground, landing onto his stomach. Everyone spun around with shocked looks. There stood Drake with two swords in his hands. He had finally taken off the cloak and revealed what he had been wearing under it. He was wearing black loose pants and thick metal and leather armor over his torsoe. There were series of belts around his waist with a scarlet sash hidden under them. He looked very much like a pirate. And the blades in his hands were very lethal looking.

Cloud and Zack both hurried forward to face him, their blades out and ready to fight if they had to. "Barret! Are you all right?!" The blonde called over his shoulder. Barret stood up swearing up a house as he turned around, holding his side. "Sh-it! He kicks like a friggen chocobo! That friggen hurt!" He exclaimed.

Drake smirked coldly towards him. "It was suppose to, Wallace." He said in a very cold and emotionless tone.

Everyone just glared at him. Cloud just stepped a little closer. "Drake! Who is your employer?! Is he the one who created those vicious monsters?!" He demanded.

Drake only looked at him with a lazy look. "Of course, he did, Strife. He is a genius. And normally I would tell you who he is but he doesn't really want to be revealed. Neither does my mistress." He said coldly.

Cloud just glared. "I want to know who they are, Drake! Tell us now!" He snapped.

Drake shook his head. "No. I don't think I will." He suddenly moved at a very high speed that no one really saw him. He spun in circle and slashed Cloud's arm. "Argh!" The blonde cried out as he leaped back covering the wound.

"Cloud!" Everyone exclaimed.

Cloud spun around when he felt Drake rush past him. Everyone did the same only to find him right next to Dr. Ryuu and Rigal. Rigal turned around quickly with a shocked look on his face only to gasp in pain as the cruel man thrust his broadsword into him. Drake only smirked as he shoved Rigal off of the blade, sending him staggering back. Rigal gasped in pain as he stumbled back. Before he could stumble and land on the ground, Loz rushed forward and caught him. "Rigal!"

Eden started to rush forward to protect Dr. Ryuu next but had to freeze in her footsteps as the cruel man grabbed a hold of the scientist, placing both of his blades against the doctor's neck while he stood behind him. "Ah-ah. I wouldn't move if I were you. Unless you want me to decapitate this man." Eden just stared with helplessness.

Dr. Ryuu had to lift up his chin a little so that the blades wouldn't cut into him. "DuCaine, killing me won't matter, you know."

Drake just gave him a cold smirk. "Yeah? Well, it'll sure make me feel better. It's been pretty damn hard trying to get a hold of you." He shrugged before looking at the group of Avalanche and the Turks.

"Drake, whatever happened to you?! You weren't really this cold and heartless before!" Cloud said as he pushed past his friends.

He was met with Drake's cold eyes. "You want to know what happened, Cloud?" Drake asked, his exterior growing very cold. "I'll tell you what happened. The day that bridge snapped and none of you came looking for me was what really killed me. How do you think I feel about that, Strife? Hm? Ask yourself what you would feel like when you woke up five years after being in a coma and you're not human anymore." He then smirked coldly at Cloud. "Of course, you would know all about that, wouldn't you? You were a puppet, weren't you? A Sephiroth clone. Someone who didn't really know what the hell he was doing when he gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth."

Cloud's eyes slowly lit up with surprise but narrowed again in confusion. "How do you know about that?"

Drake continued to smirk. "Easy. I was watching you. Through Cait Sith."

Everyone who knew what he was talking about gasped and looked over at Reeve, who looked pretty stunned. "So! You were the one that kept sneaking in my office while I worked Cait Sith! I knew someone was watching!" The Ex-Shinra employee snapped.

Drake slowly nodded. "It wasn't that hard at all, you know. You left your door unlocked. Anyone that was stupid enough like you deserves being fooled like that." Reeve glared at him.

"Drake, I'm not going to tell you again. Let Dr. Ryuu go." Cloud said as he lowered his blood stained hand and grabbed one of his other swords from behind him. Drake shook his head as he slowly began to back away with Dr. Ryuu following him. "Nope, I don't think I will. My employer as some things planned for this cretin. He's really missed you though, Ryuu. And I bet you're just dying to meet him again."

Dr. Ryuu tilted his head a little as if to look over his shoulder at him as he was being forced to move backwards with Drake. "Who am I suppose to be looking forward to meeting again?"

Drake smirked behind him before bending lower to his ear. "Ah, you know. Your brother." He whispered. Dr. Ryuu's eyes snapped open wide with shock.

The entire group didn't know what Drake had said to him but they were pretty sure that it wasn't something he wanted to hear by the look on his face. They couldn't do anything either that wouldn't endanger the kind doctor's life. They just watched helplessly as Drake dragged Dr. Ryuu towards the darkened hallway.

Before he could even leave with Dr. Ryuu, he felt something poke into his lower back from the shadows. He froze, not moving only to be smart.

"Release him. Now." The cold voice from the shadows spoke.

All of the Avalanche members all smiled when they heard the voice. "Vincent!" Yuffie gasped happiy.

But Drake didn't seemed to mind that much. Instead he moved rather quickly in spinning around and slashing at whoever it was. Vincent Valentine had to raise his golden arm to block the attack as he jumped back and tried to get a shot off of Drake, who threw Dr. Ryuu forward and jumped up into the air. Vincent started firing off of his Death Penalty but Drake kept moving. He leapt up into the rafters glaring down at the ground. "No matter. We will meet again. And next time I will get a hold of you, Dr. Ryuu." He then sneered. "Until then, enjoy your last minutes with your precious bodyguard." He turned and quickly jumped into the open air.

Everyone just stared up at where he used to be before they heard Dr. Ryuu. "No!" He gasped as he quickly got to his feet. He rushed over to where Rigal and Loz were still. He dropped to his knees by their sides, looking at the painful look on Rigal's face.

"Oh no!" Tifa said covering her mouth.

Cloud hurried over and looked Rigal's wound over. It was terrible. A very life threatening wound. Anyone could see that. Dr. Ryuu grabbed a hold of Rigal's hand and held it. "Rigal! I am so sorry. I should have nevery got you mixed up in this." He said painfully.

Rigal winced. "No, doctor. I got myself into this. I wanted to help you."

Yuffie hugged herself as she looked down at Rigal with tear filled eyes. "Is he going to be okay?" She asked. Reno shook his head as he looked down at the injured man with concern. "Not a chance. Drake hit him in a very vital spot. He's dead, no doubt about that." He said. Rude gave him a look. "Reno, must you always be so insensitive?" He asked. Reno shot him a look. "Rude, it's the truth, okay?!"

Tifa looked over at Aeris. "Aeris, can't you heal..." She paused.

Aeris looked at her with sadness before shaking her head. "No. He's gone too far. He's practically on the line of death right now. I can't heal him. He's going to die."

"I don't think so. Everyone, get away from him."

Everyone looked over at Eden who stood off to the side.

"Huh? Eden?" Zack asked.

Eden shook her head as she walked forward. "Dr. Ryuu, let me show you what Phoenix can do."

Dr. Ryuu's eyes lit up before he quickly moved back. "Everyone, get back!" He said quickly. Everyone did so and watched the young warrioress.

Eden stood over Rigal, who was growing very pale from the blood loss. She just looked into his eyes before a strange red aura surrounded her. She was starting to glow like a fire. Her lavendar colored eyes suddenly flashed to a reddish orange color and the light around here grew brighter. She was starting to lift up into the air. A heavenly sound filled the air. It took everyone by surprise. But not Dr. Ryuu. He just smiled with awe as he watched the young woman. Eden's eyes closed as she lift higher into the air with arms spread out. The light around her grew much brighter that everyone had to look away. When they all looked back, Eden was gone. But in her place was a very magnificent bird of flames. It was an extremely beautiful bird. It was like a very large swan, with flame like feathers all over its body. Sparks of flames were shooting from its wings as it gently flapped them to stay in the air. The Phoenix demon had taken over.

The Phoenix opened its eyes to reveal the beautiful firery red eyes, looking down at Rigal, who was staring up at her with awe. It made a heavenly sound instead of a loud and annoying squawk.

_"Relax, Rigal. You will soon be healed." _

Firery light surrounded him as she gently flew over him and covered him with her wings. Everyone just stared with awe as they watched the Phoenix starting to sing a magestic song. And finally, she began to vanish right in front of everyone.

Eden was standing over Rigal again, her eyes closed. She reached up and touched her forehead, looking a little dizzy. She stepped back just as Rigal forced himself to a sitting position looking down at the hole in his shirt. He was healed. Even the blood had vanished. As if it had never happened.  
Eden shook her head a few times before making a sound as if she was going to pass out. She stumbled a little, luckily falling against Rufus, who had been closer to her. He caught her and held her up so she wouldn't fall to the ground.

"Eden? Are you all right?" Dr. Ryuu asked as he moved over towards her.

Eden just rubbed her forehead. "I'm just tired. Whenever that happens, it takes a little of my energy." She told him as she just leaned against Rufus for support.

"Wow! He's okay!" Yuffie said happily.

Rigal had stood up, touching his side with a look of awe. He looked at Eden, who was looked back at him. After a minute he faintly smiled. "Thank you." Eden shook her head as she just let Rufus lead her over to where she could sit down.

"What are we going to do about Drake? This is the second time we ran into him. Or rather, he ran into us." Zack said folding his arms.

Cloud looked down at the slash in his arm. It wasn't deep at all. It could heal on itself so he chose to ignore it. "We go after him. Any ideas of where he might have gone to?" He asked. No one spoke but Dr. Ryuu looked up at him. "No. I don't have any ideas. But I do know he is working for now. He told me who it was." Everyone's attention turned to him immediately. They were awaiting for what his answer would be. Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "It is Professor Hojo. My older brother."

Everyone was a little surprised but none of them could believe it. Cloud shook his head as he stared at the doctor. "Dr. Ryuu, that's impossible. We killed him after Diamond blew up the Headquarters. There is no way he is alive."

Tifa nodded. "That's right. He was dead when we left him. He can't be alive."

Barret nodded as he motioned over to Vincent, who was looking over the sliced dent in his golden arm that Drake's sword had created. The Ex-Turk looked up when he had heard what Dr. Ryuu had said about Hojo. "Vinnie, over there, made sure of that." The gun-armed man said.

Dr. Ryuu had finally looked at Vincent for the first time. He hadn't really noticed him since he saved his life from Drake. But now that he got a very good look at Vincent's face, he looked as if he recognized him from somewhere. He titled his head as he stared at the mystical man. "Vincent Valentine. I remember you now."

Vincent's eyes narrowed a little as he tilted his head but then looked over at Cloud. "Cloud, you were looking for Dr. Ryuu?"

Cloud, like the others, was a little puzzled about the reaction between the two but nodded to his silent friend. "Yeah. Why? Do you know him?"

Vincent gave one nod. "Yes. I do. We met many years ago. While I was still a Turk."

Cloud frowned at him. "So you knew that Dr. Ryuu was Hojo's brother? Why didn't you tell us about him before?"

Vincent only looked over at him. "You never asked."

The others all smirked or chuckled. "Well, paint my ass red. The vampire man does know how to joke." Cid laughed. He only earned a look from Vincent. Barret was the only one that wasn't laughing though. He just stared up at the place where Drake had been. "What are going to do about getting Marlene back?" He interrupted.  
Everyone looked at him and then frowned when they reliezed how hurt he was. Cloud looked away as he tried to think. "We have to go after them. Problem is, we don't know where they went. Or who Drake's working for. It can't be Professor Hojo. There's not possible way."

Dr. Ryuu tilted his head as he stood up. "But that's what he told me. It has to be my brother. I don't have any other brothers besides him."

Zack shook his head and folded his arms. "He could've been pulling your leg, doc. Lying to ya." He said. The doctor looked a little tired at that very second as he nodded. "Yes, he could have been. But I'm just..." He sighed as he went over to his computer. "I just don't know. I'm getting to old for this."

Cid gave a low grunt. "Ya ain't too old for anything, doc. You're young as ya feel."

Dr. Ryuu gave him a faint smile. "Well, in that case, I'm still old. Because I've felt old since I even started working on the Phoenix Project."

Zack tilted his head. "Why did you start it anyway? Why did you choose Eden for it?" He asked. He didn't look too happy to find out that this was the man who had used Eden like he had.

Dr. Ryuu shook his head as he turned away from his computer and looked at the black haired Ex-Soldier. "I didn't really choose Eden myself. I never wanted to use her. I didn't approve doing the experiments on her. As for starting the project, I just wanted to change the world. Stop people from dying. If the Phoenix Project could do that, then it would be a better place."

Aeris shook her head as she gave him a look. "You can't do that. Stopping death is great but you can't keep at it. That's the only way the Lifestream can keep on flowing through the Planet."

Dr. Ryuu looked over at her with interest. "Hm. You're an Ancient, aren't you?" He only recieved a nod. "Yes. I remember you. Hojo was always hunting for you. You and your parents." He scowled at that. "I kept telling him to leave your father and mother alone but he never listened to me. He was too obsessed with the Promised Land and the ancients. That was why he did the Jenova Project in the first place." He shook his head. "I'm sorry for the trouble he has caused you."

Aeris faintly smiled at him. "Thank you, Dr. Ryuu. I can see the difference between you two now."

Everyone but a fair few nodded. "I have to admit it, but there's a really big difference between you and Hojo." Barret said as he folded his arms. Dr. Ryuu gave him a smile. "Oh, that's good. I was afraid that I was like him." He said in amused way. Barret grinned at him.

"So what's the plan? We gonna stick around here, digging up answers or are we going to go looking for DuCaine?" Cid asked.

There was a long silence before Cloud stood up. "I know I came here for answers, but things have just gotten worst because Drake took Marlene. I'm not exactly sure what is going on around here. But I'm going to find out, while looking for Marlene." He looked at the others. "If we go after Drake and Marlene, we might just find out what's going on."

Everyone nodded. "Yeah. You have a point, Cloud. So, let's go find out." Zack said. He looked over at Eden, who finally found herself to standing up. "Come on, Eden. Let's go with them."

Eden looked away as she adjusted her holster and then her sword before she turned away from him. "All right. Go with them." Zack frowned along with Yuffie as they looked at her in surprise. They watched her heading towards the door. Dr. Ryuu looked after her with concern. "Eden?" He called after her.

"Where are you going? Aren't you coming with?" Zack asked.

Eden turned back around and gave him a look. "No. Why would I go with you? I have other things to do, Jake."

Zack looked a little upset that she said that. He frowned sadly as he stared at her. "Eden, come on, girl. Stick with us. We could use your help."

Eden shook her head as she turned away. "No you don't. You'll do fine without me. See you around, Jake." She walked on to the doorway.

"Kind of antisocial, ain't she?" Cid asked as they all watched her leave.

Zack glanced over at him before looking away with a look on his face. "That's just the way she is. She believes no one can help her." He said quietly.

Dr. Ryuu looked at him worriedly. "What are you talking about?"

Zack shook his head as he looked over at him. "Do you honestly think she wants to live with a demon inside her for the rest of her life. I know she gets along with Phoenix pretty good but still, put herself in your place, Doc. You should have thought of her feelings before you put that thing into her." He said with an edge.

Cloud frowned while listening before he turned around and looked over at the look on Vincent's face. The silent man had a very thoughtful look and it didn't take a very excellent observer to figure out what he was thinking. Vincent seemed to sense his eyes on him so he looked right back at him. The two stared into one another's eyes for a long moment, as if a silent conversation passed between them. Then Vincent looked away towards the door where Eden had exited out of. Without a word, he walked right over to it.

Everyone else just looked after him. "Huh? Vinceman?! Where ya going?" Yuffie called after him.

The Ex-Turk didn't answer as he just walked out of the room. The young ninja pouted from the lack of answers so she started after him but Cloud quickly placed his hand onto her shoulder. "Yuffie, stay here. He's just going to have a word with Eden. That's all."

Reno folded his arms and tilted his head as he looked after the Ex-Turk. "You think he can make her change her mind?"

Cloud shook his head. "No. But it's worth a shot if Zack, here, wants her to come with us. There's no one better to talk to her, than someone who is like her."

Tifa hugged herself as she nodded. "I think you're right, Cloud."

Everyone else nodded. Rufus looked a little curious about what they were talking about. "Why's that?"

Red XIII sat down on his hind quarters, his tail twitching now and then. "Because Vincent, too, has his own demons. He knows how she feels about having to share a body with a creature."

Everyone who didn't know that looked quite surprised. Dr. Ryuu looked away with a look on his face. "Then the proceedure that we did on Eden..." He looked back at Cloud. "How did it happen?"  
The blonde looked over at him. For a second, he was quiet then he nodded. "Professor Hojo did it to him. Long ago. After Sephiroth was born." He told him. The doctor nodded as he looked towards the door way now. "Then...it was the same proceedure that we did on Eden. How we placed Phoenix inside her."  
Rufus tilted his head. "How do you know?" He asked. Dr. Ryuu looked right back at him. "Because it was Professor Hojo's idea. He said he had done it before. It must be the same procedure he did on Mr. Valentine."

Eden was already outside when Vincent caught up to her. She was making her way towards the mountain range when she realized that someone was behind her. She stopped in her footsteps before turning around sharply and aiming her gun at who had been following her. Vincent just stood there looking right at her, not seeming to notice that there was gun aiming at him.

"What are you doing following me? Why aren't you sticking with your friends?" Eden asked as she continued to aim at him.

Vincent didn't even blink as he stared into her eyes. "You have been cursed by Hojo as I have."

The red haired warrioress just squinted her eyes at him, trying to figure out what he meant before she remembered what Yuffie had told her before. She slowly lowered her gun and slid it back into its holster. "So. You have demons too?"

Vincent nodded as he slowly walked towards her but turned to look up at the bright moon in the sky. "Yes. Four to be exact." Was his quiet answer.

There was a long silence between the two before Eden looked away. "What are they like?" She asked quietly.

Vincent didn't look at her. The two of them were quiet for another long moment before the Ex-Turk looked at her, meeting her lavendar colored eyes. "They are monsters. And they make me more inhuman. I am no longer human. Not like I used to be."

Eden tilted her head to the side as she studied him. "You look human to me."

"Does one have to look human to not be?"

The red haired warrioress shook her head. "Maybe, maybe not. But were you experiemented on your entire life just to become inhuman?"

Vincent just stared into her eyes before shaking his head once. "I suppose not. But you're still human. And you may not have very much in life, but you still do have your life. You should live with people who care for you. Even if that includes fighting to protect the innocent against people you might have feared once. Protect what you have, Eden." He said quietly.

Eden tilted her head away from him but still looked into his blood red eyes. "What do I have to live for?"

"You must discover that for yourself."

There was another long silence before Eden looked away. "I don't think I have anything." She looked back at him. "What do you have to live for?"

Vincent looked away towards a far away mountain on the otherside of Nibelheim. After a minute of silence, he shook his head. "I have nothing. Nothing but memories and sins. Terrible sins."

"What kind of sins?" Eden asked.

The Ex-Turk looked back at her. "...I let the woman I loved die. When I should have stopped her."

Eden reached up and gently pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Do you ever think she may have forgiven you...for such a sin like that?"

Vincent was quiet before he shook his head. "No. I cannot ever be forgiven." He said quietly.

Eden slowly shook her head. "Yes, you can. To be forgiven, you must forgive yourself first. But that is if you want to be forgiven." She said just as quietly.

And for the first time in his life as an Ex-Turk, Vincent faintly smiled. "You are wise for your age."

"I was taught to be."

Vincent slowly nodded. "Good. To be wise, you will go far." He then flipped his cloak back as he turned away from her. "You should stay with them. You might find out the answers that you are looking for if you do. I found the answers I had been looking for. Besides, Dr. Ryuu may need more than just us to protect him. He will need the one person that he raised from youth. He taught you, did he not?"

"He may have taught me how to do a lot of things but he also cursed me, Valentine." Eden spoke up.

Vincent turned back around to look at her. "...are you sure?"

A very long silence passed between them again. Eden slowly looked away, her arms wrapping around herself. "...I don't know..."

"Think about it then. We will be waiting." Then the Ex-Turk walked back to the lab, leaving her to herself.

* * *

In the dark room, the lady was staring out into the dark night. The eerie blue light shining once again onto her body, yet it was still very dark and hard to see. She had a look on her face, as if she knew something was wrong, something that she did not want to happen. Her icy blue eyes narrowed as if she was trying to see something. 

"My lady, you called for me?"

She turned around and looked at the man standing in the darkness. She couldn't see his face but she could see his body and what he was wearing. He was a black suit with a white lab coat over it. His hands were folded behind his back. "Yes. I have called for you. Is the proceedure going accordingly to plan?"

"Yes, my lady. So far what you have ordered is being done. DuCaine has called in not long ago to report he has a girl for the project. However, he has run into just a little bit of trouble. He has told me that the Failures have caught on to what he was doing. They are probably chasing after him to get the girl back." He said in a low voice. The lady narrowed her icy blue eyes at him.

After a long moment, she gave a nod. "Very well. Call him in. Tell him that if he shall have any more difficulty, then he may call upon your experiements." Her eyes narrowed even more. "As it is, those remenants are still alive. I know they are. If they do not rejoin us, then they will die. Like everyone else on this pathedic Planet. Send out the new monsters and call in my beautiful pets." She said in a cool tone.  
The man in the darkness nodded. "Yes, my lady. Anything for you." He turned and walked out. The lady turned her eyes back out the window. "As for the rest, leave them to me."

**

* * *

****Quick Note:**

**I remember getting a review from someone about Eden being a Mary Sue, believe me she's not invincible if you are all wondering. She can die just as easily as the others can. It's just that Phoenix is the Bird of Life and Death. She is the immortal part about Eden, but Eden is not immortal at all. Believe me, and I will seriously be honest right now, if Eden would die in this story, she's dead. End of Story. Phoenix would be the one to live, not Eden. So, just to clear that whole thing up. **


	15. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Reviews, reviews and more reviews! I'm just loving how you guys are really enjoying this and all the compliments. It's making me feel so happy that you are enjoying this. Thank you all so much. Anyway, on to the quick shout out.**

**IluvAUs: No problem whatsoever. I would love to go to Florida! It sounds like so much fun! I hope you did have fun. Anyway, yeah. I couldn't leave Vinnie out! He's got a MAJOR role in this story. Believe me. I won't get into it though. You'll find out later. As for having him paired up with Eden, well...to be honest I did consider it before I started this story. But unfortunately, no. They will start up a nice relationship though. I won't spoil it too much. Enjoy!**

**AznPuffyHair: Hehehehe. I love Vincent. I'm pretty sure that Vincent would have been a titch faster too and eventually he will be. But not right now. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Linx79: Lol. Yeah, I agree with you there. Cloud and Vincent are really good friends even though they don't say too much to each other. They really don't need to. But anyway, I'm glad you're having fun reading this. **

**Let's get on with the story now. Enjoy, everyone!!

* * *

****Chapter XIV:**

Everyone was either resting or looking over some of the items on Dr. Ryuu's computer, with his permission of course. They were also trying to come up with a plan about what they were going to do. Cloud was sitting off to the side looking at the computer as Dr. Ryuu showed him and some of the others what he had on it. At the second, they were looking at the results of the dust.  
"As you can see, the dust is just normal body remains. It's only the crystals that are interesting. From what I can see, they are Mako crystals. They are a little like materia only they don't summon monsters or use magic. They give their bodies large amounts of strength. That is probably why the monsters that exist now are so violent and strong. However," Dr. Ryuu paused as he clicked on something. ", the Mako is not the only thing in the crystals. There are Jenova Cells inside them."

That got everyone's attention. Cloud sat up straight. "Jenova cells? How did they get in there? And why are they in the monsters?"

Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "I'm not sure. It must be an old scientist from Shinra who is doing this. Hojo did have a few trusted assisstants. It's possible that they could be trying to finish what he started. With the Jenova Project I mean."

Yazoo leaned forward. "And what is it he started?" He asked quietly.

Cloud folded his arms and shook his head. "He created Sephiroth. And in your case, you. You, Loz, and Kadaj. But you are remnants, right? So it was Jenova that created you. Sephiroth was actually born from a human woman named Lucrecia." He then explained to the two silver haired men about how the whole thing started. The doctor slowly nodded in agreement as he listened.  
But when Cloud finished, Loz shook his head. "That's got to be a lie!" He said, sounding like he was going to start crying.

Reno rolled his eyes. "It's not a lie, big guy. It's the truth." He said as he folded his arms.

Loz shot to his feet, glaring at him. "No! It's not! I refuse to believe it!" He snapped. Rigal reached over and touched his shoulder. "Loz, calm down." He told him. Loz jerked away. "No!"

"Yes. Calm down. Acting like a crybaby is not going to solve anything."

There a cold silence as everyone in the room jerked around when they heard that voice. Cloud stood up quickly, grabbing his sword as soon as he saw exactly who it was. "Sephiroth!"

Tifa and Aeris stood up quickly and hovered close to one another with fear in their eyes. Yuffie squealed in fear as she quickly got behind Reno, who only glanced at her before turning his surprised eyes onto the tall silver haired man looming in the shadows of the door. His creepy green eyes slowly looking over each person as he slowly stepped into the room. And folded on his back, was his one black wing, which slowly vanished. Yazoo stood up, with a very surprised look on his face. He only glanced up at Loz, who was looking just as surprised. "Big brother." The big lug whispered.

Sephiroth looked over at him before smirking then he looked back at Cloud and Zack, who stepped next to him. Both of them were looking very stern at him. "Cloud, Zack." He once again looked around. "I see we are all here. Except one. Kadaj hasn't arrived yet." He shook his head. "No matter. He'll show up sooner or later."

"Sephiroth, what are you doing here?!" Cloud demanded.

Sephiroth coolly looked at him. "Relax, Cloud. I'm not here to cause trouble. For once."

Zack narrowed his eyes at him. "Then why are you here?" He asked with edge. Sephiroth shook his head as he glanced over towards Aeris, whose fear slowly melted away. "I'm here because I was ordered to come here."

"By whom?" Rufus asked, as his eyes narrowed at the former General.

"By the Planet and the Lifestream." Aeris said softly.

Everyone looked over at her with surprised. "Aeris?" Tifa asked. Aeris looked over at her with a faint smile. "I had almost forgotten about it. That's why we've been brought back. Why the Lifestream sent us back to the Planet." She said. A surprised look appeared on Zack's face as if he just remembered something. So did Yazoo and Loz. They looked like someone had just slapped them across the face for no reason at all.

Sephiroth only smirked with a deep chuckle in his throat. "I told you, Cloud, that I will never be a memory."

Cloud shot him a look as soon as he said that. "So, you're here to help? With what? Why are you here?" He looked over at Aeris then at Zack. "I don't mind Zack and Aeris being here, but you three," He looked back at Sephiroth, Loz and Yazoo. "I don't like it."

Sephiroth shook his head. "I don't know why we are here, Cloud. But I do know that there is a threat on the Planet. And the Lifestream sent us here to take care of it. With your help. Like it or not, we are here." He then turned his eyes away from Cloud when someone entered the room.

Eden had come back but she stopped as soon as she saw Sephiroth. She was surprised at first but then she frowned darkly at him. "Sephiroth." She said in a deadly tone. Everyone turned to look at her. Zack's face lit up with light happiness. But he wasn't the only one that lit up. Rufus and Yazoo also looked a little happier to see her. "Eden! You're back!" The Ex-Soldier said happily. The red haired warrioress only glanced at him before looking back at Sephiroth. "Yeah. I'm back. Only because I wanted answers." She narrowed her eyes at the tallest silver haired man. "What are you doing here?" She asked coldly.

Sephiroth only tilted his head in a teasing way. "It's good to see you too, Eden. How long has it been? Ten years?"

Eden ignored some of the looks she recieved. She only glared coldly at Sephiroth. "It's been nine years. But don't change the subject. Why are you here?" She asked just as coldly. Zack folded his arms as he looked back at his old comrad. "He says he's here to help."

"And you believed him?" Eden asked sarcastically.

Cloud shook his head. "No. We don't believe him. That's why we haven't invited him into our little group. Give us a good reason why we should welcome you, Sephiroth." He said just as coldly as Eden had. Sephiroth lazily looked at him. "Because you need someone to take down Drake. You can't do it, Cloud. He's too fast, too wicked and too strong for you." He said coolly. Cloud narrowed his eyes. "I'd rather take my chances in doing it myself."

Tifa looked over at him with worry. "Cloud, maybe he's right."

The blonde looked at his best friend. "What?"

Barret shook his head as he folded his arms, looking rather gruff. "Spikey, I don't like it either but you saw how fast DuCaine was. He moved too quick for us to see. He nearly killed Rigal over there. He could probably...he could probably do it to you too." He said with great effort.

"Then I'll take care of him. We don't need Sephiroth." Eden said coldly.

Sephiroth only smirked at her. "I see you are still angry with me."

Eden glared at him. "Tell me, Sephiroth, how exactly am I suppose to feel when you stole me from my family and killed them then took me to that godforsaken Professor Hojo only to become something else? Tell me how am I suppose to feel. Because I'm dying to know." She said in an icy tone. Even the air around them started to cool down.

Sephrioth continued to look her right in the eye, not afraid of her at all. "I suppose you would have to be angry. But think of it this way. If I hadn't taken you, you would have died with your family. I merely was trying to keep you alive."

Eden rolled her eyes as she turned away. "Oh thanks, Sephiroth. That really helps." She said sarcastically.

Sephiroth just smirked. "You're welcome."

"All right, Sephy. Leave her alone." Zack said coolly. Sephiroth gave him a look at the nickname. Cloud only nodded. "Yeah. Instead of pissing her off even more, why don't you tell us what you know." He said. The silver haired warrior looked at him before nodding. "Very well. What I know is that whoever is behind the monsters is not in charge. Whoever created those monsters, they are following orders by someone else. How I know is because like a few of you, I have seen the eyes."

Everyone looked mildly suprised but most looked confused.

"The eyes?! The hell?!" Barret exclaimed.

Cloud just looked away in interest. "The eyes...are you talking about the blue eyes?" He asked. Everyone just looked at him in surprise. Sephiroth nodded. "So, you have seen them. That's what I thought. You carry Jenova cells as I do." He then looked over at the looks on Yazoo and Loz's faces. "You too. You are remenants of my mother. So you would carry her cells as I do."

Loz frowned. "Your mother? She's ours too!"

Sephiroth shook his head as he looked around at everyone looking at him. "She's the one behind these attacks."

That surprised everyone. "What?!" Several of the people exclaimed. Cloud's chin dug into his neck as he took in the information. "How is this possible, Sephiroth? There was nothing left. Rufus blew the head to bits a year ago when Kadaj tried to catch it from falling." He said. The silver haired tyrant shook his head, now looking quite forlorn.

"That is one answer I can't answer. I don't know how she is back, but she is. There must have been something you missed. Or someone."

Everyone just looked at him in a questioning way. "Someone? Who else would have Jenova cells?" Tifa asked glancing around at everyone else.

Then Dr. Ryuu sucked in air sharply as the thought came to him. "The woman would. Lucrecia."

Every single one of the Avalanche members immediately looked at Vincent, who did look slightly surprised but then again, he didn't. He shook his head as soon as Dr. Ryuu had said Lucrecia's name. "She's dead, Ryuu. She's not an option." He said in his silent but cool tone. Dr. Ryuu then sighed. "Then I don't know who. There must have been at least one other person Hojo had used." He rubbed his temples. "But who?"

"We probably shouldn't worry too much about it right at this second. Right now, we need to get Marlene back and find out what Drake was going to do with her." Cloud said. Everyone nodded.

"So what's the plan? How we going to track DuCaine down?" Zack asked.

No one spoke for a minute before Cloud looked over at Cid. "Cid, how many people can fit on the Shera?" He asked. The foul mouthed pilot shrugged lazily. "Everyone in this friggen room can fit on the Shera. But I don't want those friggen guys on it." He grumbled nodding towards the three silver haired men. Loz and Yazoo both looked offended but Sephiroth didn't seem to think anything of it. He just eyed Cloud with a silent look, who looked right back at him.

After a minute, Cloud shook his head. "Cid, they're going to have to be on the ship. I don't want to take my eyes off of them for any second. They're coming with us."

Cid wasn't that happy. He folded his arms. "God damn it, Cloud! Do they really have to friggen come?! They friggen creep me out!" He exclaimed. Cloud rolled his eyes. "Yes, Cid. They have to come."

That made the pilot throw a huge swearing fit. Tifa shook her head. "Cid, please just let them come aboard. It's probably for the best anyway. If Aeris says that they're here to help, then I suppose they are. I don't like it anymore than you do, but still." She said. Cid blew out a sigh before unfolding his arms. "Fine! But I'm the boss on my ship! They have to do everything I tell them to do!" He snapped.

Loz gave him a dark look but both Dr. Ryuu and Rigal touched his shoulders to silence. "Yes, Captain. We all will do what we're told." The kind scientist said.

Everyone nodded. Zack looked over at Eden. "So, Eden. You with us?"

Eden gave Sephiroth a cool look before folding her arms. "Fine. But keep him away from me. I don't want anything to do with him." She said coldly. Sephiroth didn't say a word even though everyone thought he might. "So let's head out to the airship right now. There, we can try and find out where Drake is heading." Cloud said and they began to prepare leaving.

* * *

That night, everyone was on the ship. There wasn't enough rooms for everyone to have on their own but that didn't seem to bother anyone at all. The only ones who didn't seem to have a room was the three Silver haired men but none of them seemed to care. Eden was out on the balconey, looking out at the star dotted sky as the airship hovered over the land. She didn't seem to care that the wind was blowing her hair around her face. She just enjoyed the view and the breeze.

"It's quite a night, isn't it?"

She turned around to see Dr. Ryuu along with Rigal. Apparently that guy never left the doctor's side. He just glanced over at Eden before going over to the other side of the balconey to give his friend and Eden some privacy. Dr. Ryuu placed his hands onto the railing and took in a deep breath. A very faint smile on his face as he looked up at the starry sky. "You know, I've travelled the world, crossed the ocean and climbed high mountains but never have I ever been in an airship before." He said softly. Eden didn't say anything as she looked up at the bright moon. There was a long silence between the two. Dr. Ryuu finally sighed as he slouched over the railing looking straight down at the ground. "I'm so sorry, Eden."

Eden looked at him, noticing the tears in his eyes. "For what?" Her voice was a lot softer than it had been before.

Dr. Ryuu didn't look at her. "For everything I've put you through. I shouldn't have done any experiments on you. I should have put my foot down when Hojo had suggested that we done anything with you." He shook his head. "You see, everyone was afraid of him. Even I was. I knew what he was capable of. I should have done something. Stood up for you. But I was a coward." He said placing his hand over his eyes.

Eden stared at him for a minute before she shook her head. "No, you weren't, Dr. Ryuu. You were never a coward. You did stand up for me when Hojo wanted to do terrible things to me." She smiled faintly. "And for that, I thank you. You were the father I never knew."

Dr. Ryuu looked at her then smiled. He reached over and gently took her hand. "Thank you for forgiving me, Eden. I really appreciate it." He said, giving her hand a light squeeze.

Eden couldn't help but smile and squeezed his hand right back before they both looked back at the sky. After a minute, Dr. Ryuu let go of her hand and turned around. "Rigal?"

The tall desperado turned around and looked at him. "Yes, Dr. Ryuu?" He asked as he took a few steps towards the two. Dr. Ryuu glanced back at Eden before nodding to his friend. "Can you do me a favor and go ask Cid if he could head for Wutai?"

That took both Eden and Rigal by surprise. "Wutai? What's in Wutai?" Rigal asked. Dr. Ryuu just shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You will know when we get there. Could you please?" He asked. Rigal slowly nodded. "Sure." Then he left. Eden looked back at Dr. Ryuu. "What's in Wutai?" She asked. Dr. Ryuu smiled at her. "You know exactly what's there, Eden. What does your heart tell you?"

Eden lowered her head as she tilted it to the side. "You...you're taking me home, aren't you?"

"What's left of it anyway. I think it's best to see where you came from, Eden. It will help you find out your true identity. You were six years old when you were taken. You might not remember your home for a few reasons but you were old enough to remember a little bit of it." Ryuu said with a soft tone. Eden just looked at him curiously. "Dr. Ryuu, there's probably nothing there for me at all."

"We shall see."

"What the hell does he want to go to Wutai for?" Cid asked in a gruff tone. Rigal shook his head as he leaned against the wall right beside the pilot. "I have no idea. But I think it's for Eden." He said. Cloud frowned as he put a thoughtful look on his face. "Eden? Wasn't she from Wutai?"

Sephiroth nodded from the shadowy corner. "Yes. That's where I took her from when I was still involved with Shinra. If I'm guessing correctly, Dr. Ryuu wants to show Eden where she really is from."

"Heh, we don't really have time for a small side trip, do we? We're suppose to be looking for Marlene." Barret grumbled. Tifa folded her arms over her stomach as she put a very thoughtful look on her face. "But if it's for Eden..." She paused. Reno tossed his long bangs out of his eyes. "So what? We don't have time for this. What's so special about that chick anyway?" He asked moodily. A few people gave him dark looks. "You'd be surprised, Reno, on what she can do. You saw what she did when Rigal was nearly killed. That's how special she is." Rufus said folding his arms. Reno just rolled his eyes.

"He's right in a way, though. We don't have time for this." Cloud said shaking his head. "Right now, our first resolve is to find Marlene and kill Drake before he harms her."

"Cloud," The blonde looked over at the silent Ex-Turk. "We don't even know where Drake went. For all we know, he could have gone to Wutai with Marlene." Vincent said quietly.

"Yeah, but if we stray away from the trail..." Cloud was saying.

Zack shook his head as he pushed off the wall where he was standing. "What trail, Cloud? We aren't even on a trail? Valentine's right. There could be a chance that Drake took Marlene to Wutai. We have a very small chance to even running into them again."

No one spoke for a long moment. "Hell, I hate to admit it, but he's right. We don't even know where Drake's heading." Barret growled.

Cloud ran his fingers through his hair before looking at Aeris. "Aeris, is there anyway that the Planet could tell you where to go to find Drake?" He asked. Aeris shook her head. "No. We're practically on our own in this case."

The blonde swordsman grumbled to himself before shaking his head. "Well, then we're going to Wutai. We have to see what we can do there. Hopefully we'll pick up on something. Cid, set the coordinates for Wutai." He said. The pilot really started grumbling as he did so.

Rufus was watching everyone mingling with everyone else and he in particular didn't feel like speaking to any of them. He glanced around before making his way out of the cockpit. He was making his way across the bridge to head to his room before pausing to see Dr. Ryuu walking his way. The kind doctor gave him a small smile and a nod of greeting. "Good evening, Mr. President."

The Ex-President frowned. "You don't have to call me that anymore, you know. I'm not the President of Shinra like I used to be. Shinra is no more." He told him.

Dr. Ryuu smiled. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what to call you. I didn't know if you liked to be called Rufus or not."

Rufus shook his head. "That's my name, isn't it?"

"Forgive me then, Rufus." Dr. Ryuu said. Rufus shook his head. "There's nothing to forgive. Like I said, Shinra's no more. So I'm just Rufus Shinra now." He said. Dr. Ryuu smiled. "You're a lot different than you used to be, Rufus. You're not cold man I first met." He said. Rufus slowly nodded as he turned away from the doctor. "Death has that effect on people. It changes you."

"Yes, I see that. Well, this is a good change. I never was very fond of your father. I was afraid that you would have been like him. Forgive me for saying." Dr. Ryuu said to him.

Again Rufus shook his head. "Nothing to forgive. I wasn't fond of him either." He then shrugged. "We're heading towards Wutai. To do whatever you're planning to do and to see if Drake might have made an appearence there. Hopefully we'll find something."

Dr. Ryuu nodded. "I hope so too. A child as young as Marlene should never be taken from her loving father. I just hope that nothing bad comes to her." He said. Rufus nodded before looking over his shoulder to see Eden heading straight for her room.

"How's Eden doing?"

A smile curled on Dr. Ryuu's face as he lightly tilted his head to look over his shoulder at Eden. "She's just fine. Why do you ask?"

Rufus scowled at him. "I don't like her as you might be thinking, doctor. It was a simple question." He frowned even more when Dr. Ryuu laughed. "What is so funny?"

"Oh nothing, Young Rufus Shinra. I just find it so facinating how much you have changed over the years. Even though you are still interested in Eden." He earned a scowl from Rufus. "Just remember one thing right now. You are not the only one here that likes her." He then walked around the young man and went into the cockpit. Rufus watched him with confusion then shook his head as he turned his way towards the cabins. He figured it was time to turn in.

As he walked towards the room he was staying in with Reno and Rude, he couldn't help but shiver as a prickle on his neck tweaked with the back hairs. He knew that feeling from experience. He was about to get attacked.

Rufus halted in his footsteps, glancing around before someone grabbed his front shirt, swinging him right into the wall. He immediately grabbed whoever it was that had attacked him and spun them both around so that it was she, who was pinned against the wall. But he still could feel the barrel of the gun under his chin.

"What the hell do you have against me?!" Rufus asked as he glared at Eden.

The red haired warrioress glared back at him. "You tried to have me killed. Is that enough for you?!" She snapped. Rufus rolled his eyes before he roughly pushed the gun away from his chin and stepped back. "For god's sake, Eden. I did not make that order. That was an unauthorized order. It was more than likely it was Scarlett who made the order, pretending it was from me. She was jealous of you when we went to the lab." He said folding his arms.

Eden continued to glare at him. "Why would she be jealous of me?"

Again Rufus rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't looked in the mirror lately, Eden, you are quite exquisite."

Eden gave him a surprised but warning look before she looked away. There was no doubt a blush was creeping up her cheeks. She then gave Rufus a very dark look. "Keep your eyes to yourself, Shinra. I don't like you because no matter what everyone else says, you are like your father. And someday, you're going to die like him." She turned and stomped away.

Rufus glared angrily after her but chose not to snap back. As soon as she was gone, he gave a very frustrated sigh. "Women! What is the deal with them?!" He muttered before going to his own room.


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: I would like to thank you all so much for your reviews. I can't believe on how many I've gotten so far. I'm actually really surprised. All well. Here's a quick shout out.**

**linx79: Hehehe. Believe me, they're going to have a very interesting relationship. They absolutely hate each other, yet they're forced to work with one another. The story on Cloud will open up a little more later on. Anyway, thank you for your reviews and enjoy.**

**Chaxra-san: Soon enough, I promise. Kadaj will make his appearence soon enough. Probably in the chapter after the next one. And believe me, there will a bigger reaction on him. Especially between him and Cloud. As for Marlene...well, we'll have to see how it goes with her. Believe me, she's not in a real good position to be honest.**

**IluvAUs: Lol. Yeah, he kind of does like Eden but she can get on his nerves so easily, and him to her. I'm so glad you had a good time in Florida! I SO want to go there! lol. **

**Anyway, thanks again, everyone. Oh, by the way, this chapter will get very interesting, even though a certain someone in here will make an appearence. He's really not important. It's more like a side quest sort of thing. And on with the story.

* * *

****Chapter XV:**

It was getting late in the evening, so everyone else started to go to bed. Though some of them couldn't sleep. Cloud was definitely one of them. The thought of his enemies becoming of his allies sort of shook him and he didn't want to take the chance to fall asleep, letting them go around and killing them. Especially Sephiroth. He didn't trust him for the very second. That sort of happened when he tried to kill you for foiling his plans.

Cloud blew out a sigh as he sat near the window watching clouds wizzing by. He could already hear Cid snoring by the helm. It was more than likely that he had put the ship onto auto-pilot. It was very quiet and it sort of scared Cloud. Deathly silent was not what he liked that much. He even kept glancing around to see if he could spot those eerie green eyes looking at him from the shadows, waiting for him to fall asleep so he could chop his head off. But there was no sign of Sephiroth. Cloud blew out another sigh before looking out the window again.

"Cloud?"

His head jerked around as he grabbed the handle of his sword, before deciding not to pull it because it had been Tifa. She was bringing him some coffee. "I thought you were asleep." He admitted quietly.

Tifa faintly smiled at him as she handed him the cup of hot steaming black liquid. "No. I couldn't sleep. Not with Marlene being in such danger." She said as she wrapped her arms around her knees, her wine colored eyes gazing outside. "I wonder if she's even alive. If..." Her voice was thick with sorrow and tears were starting to fill her eyes. "Barret's never going to forgive me if we don't get her back safely. I doubt that he would even trust me with Marlene again."

Cloud watched her silently before he reached over and took her hand. "Tifa, it's Barret. Of course he would trust you. We've been together for so long. How could he not forgive you?" He smiled faintly when Tifa smiled at him. "We're all in this together."

"I guess you're right, Cloud. But..." Tifa frowned again, looking back out the window. "Cloud, now that Aeris has come back, what are you going to do?"

Cloud gave her a questioning look. "What are you talking about?"

Tifa looked back at him. "You know what I'm talking about, Cloud. I know you still have feelings for her. I noticed how your feelings for her woke up when I showed that she was with us." She held up a hand when Cloud opened his mouth to say something. "No, let me finish. I'm not going to get mad if you want to...start a relationship with her. After all, we're just best friends. We have since we made our promise. So don't worry if you make your choice." She then stood and walked away. Cloud watched her go before sighing and shaking his head. "But I already made my choice, Tifa." He whispered before sipping the hot coffee.

* * *

Morning came too soon for most of them. By the looks of everyone, none of them had slept very well. Yet, Vincent looked just the same as did Sephiroth. Rufus looked very moody, and kept shooting Eden looks, which she returned. They were hovering right above the bay near Wutai, looking down at the island. 

"So what's the plan?" Zack asked as he looked down out the window.

Cloud glanced over at Dr. Ryuu, who looked back. They just stared at one another before looking away from each other. "We'll split into two groups. One group will go to the village and see if we can find anything. The other will stay with Dr. Ryuu and Eden."

Cid folded his arms. "Hey, what about my ship? I ain't leaving her alone!" He grumbled. Cloud groaned as he rubbed his head. "Fine. Who's going to go with me and who's staying?" He asked in frustration. Dr. Ryuu nodded towards Sephiroth. "I think it would be best if Sephiroth came with Eden and me. He knows where he took Eden from. I'm not sure where the exact area where her town used to be."

Sephiroth nodded. "I remember. I'll take you there."

Rufus folded his arms. "I want to see this village, myself. To see where I have to rebuild the town when Old Man Shinra had SOLDIER destroy the place."

Everyone gave him a surprised look. "You're going to rebuild?" asked Tifa.

Rufus nodded. "Yes. A town was destroyed because of Shinra Inc. I think it'd be best to replace what was taken away." He looked towards Reeve. "Reeve, you were the Head of Urban Develope Building when Shinra Inc. was still in charge. Do you think you can design blue prints to a new town?"

Reeve couldn't help but smile and nodded. "Sure I could. But before you can do anything, Rufus, you have to have permission by the people of Wutai."

"Well, he's got permission." Yuffie spoke up as she put her hands onto her waist. Everyone smiled at the young thief Princess. Reeve nodded. "Well, then, I'll get started on something. So I suppose I'll be staying aboard the ship with Cid." Everyone nodded.  
They quietly rearranged the parties then set off. Cloud was taking six people with him, including Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Reno and Zack, while the other group consisted Dr. Ryuu, Eden, Rufus, Vincent, Sephiroth, Yazoo and Rigal. The others were staying aboard the ship.

"If you need anything, give us a ring on the PHS." Cloud told Cid, who nodded. Then he looked at Dr. Ryuu. "You too. Use Vincent's phone, if he don't mind." He said with a hint of a question as he looked at the tall Ex-Turk, who only nodded. Then they were off. One group was heading towards the Wutain village while the other were heading off to another direction.

Eden walked behind Dr. Ryuu, ignoring the looks she was getting from Rufus. She knew that he was still angry about the threat she gave him. She didn't care. She couldn't care less about how he felt. She didn't like him at all.

"So, where is this place that we're going to?" Rigal finally spoke up. Everyone glanced at one another, all asking the same question. Sephiroth just pointed. "That way. The ruins of the village is in this direction." And so they let him lead the way.

They traveled for about a mile when they came to a clearing. There were plants growing upon ruined stone walls and aged burned wood. Lumps of stone bricks, burned from fires. There was nothing else but ruins.

"We've arrived. This is the village we took Eden from." Sephiroth said stepping back.

There was a long silence before Eden started to walk forward. Everyone just watched her as she looked around. None of them could say anything, only watch. Eden silently looked around at the ruins, stepping over a large chunk of burned brick. Her eyes looking over the landscape. She frowned as she looked at the ruins. A distant memory was now playing inside her mind. She closed her eyes to recall it.

What she saw was a young Eden, her younger self when she still had black hair. She was six years old and dancing around a tree stump.

Eden opened her eyes and looked forward to where she could see a half burned stump. She quietly walked over to it, knowing that the others were following her. Her attention was just on the stump. Silently, she bent down beside it, touching the burned wood. Forms of life was already starting to regrow on it. She closed her eyes again.

_The young Eden giggled as she stumbled, catching herself on the stump. A large hand grabbed her arm to keep her from hitting the ground. She looked up to see a smiling handsome face looking down at her. The man was a large and powerfully man. He had the looks of a blacksmith. His long raven black hair fell over dark brown eyes. _

_'Careful, Eden.' He had said softly as he stood her up. _

_'Papa.' The young Eden giggled as she wrapped her tiny arms around his leg. The man chuckled as he hugged her back. The two of them turned towards a house not far from the tree stump. Standing there was a beautiful woman with dark brown hair and brilliant emerald green eyes. _

Eden turned her head as she opened her eyes and looked at the ruins of a house near the stump. She stood up and walked towards it, stopping for a minute as a pained look appeared on her face. She remembered everything now. She remembered her family. And the last day she was with them.

_The young Eden was playing with a doll in the house while her mother was baking a pie. The rich smells of appleberry pie was in the air. She was humming a soft melody that Eden recognized as Phoenix's song. _

_Suddenly there was an alarm going off. Someone was banging on the warning gong. Young Eden looked at the door as her mother gasped and jerked around, dropping the pie to the ground in the process. Eden's father had ran into the house, looking very pale and alert. 'Briar! Shinra's Army is coming! Hide Eden!' He gasped. Briar quickly hurried over to Eden, who stood up. _

_'Come, Eden!' She said as she pulled her daughter towards a hidden compartment behind the fireplace. She placed Eden inside and closed the door. 'Eden, don't come out no matter what happens!' Briar said before she rushed to the door and bolted it. _

_As Eden sat in the hidden compartment, she turned her eyes towards the window where she could see fights breaking out between the people of the village and strange men wearing armor. There were gunfire and sounds of metal clashing against another. Screams of pain filled the air making the little girl curl up in a corner. She could hear her father yelling in pain and that really made her shiver. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to get out of there. She could also smell the smoke from the fires. She pushed the hidden door open and looked around. There was smoke in the air. Her house was on fire. She turned her eyes over to the corner and she saw her mother lying on the ground. She was dead. She had been shot in the forehead. Eden remembered the scream that rose in her throat. She remembered how she turned and ran out of the house, running right into one of the SOLDIERs. The SOLDIER turned, grabbing her arms. A murderous look on his face. He rose his gun to shoot her. _

_Just then, a fist slammed into his face, sending him flying away from Eden. Eden looked up to see her father, who was bleeding from the shoulder. He didn't hesitate to picking her up and started running for the border of the town. But he didn't get far because a soldier had fired at him, hitting him in the leg. The two went down but Eden's father turned his body to hit the ground and protect Eden. His strong arms wrapped tightly around her, cradling her. _

_There was the terrible sound of gunfire and he gasped. Eden screamed when she saw the blood flying out of his chest. She rolled out of her father's arms as the soldiers shot him. Then looked up to see a sword flying at her only to be deflected by another sword. A very big one at that. _

_Her terror ridden eyes looked up into the eerie green eyes of General Sephiroth. She felt a choke of fear in her throat as she looked up at him. He was so big compared to her, a giant looking down at an ant. It terrorfied her to see a man like this. _

_"General Sephiroth! Allow me to kill this little cretin! She's a Wutain and we've been ordered to kill all Wutain." The solder that had killed her father. _

_The silver haired General gave the soldier a very cool look. "Permission denied, soldier. This one will live."_

_"But sir! We've been ordered...!" The soldier had argued until Sephiroth turned sharply and stabbed the soldier through the chest. He fell to the ground just as lifeless as the people they were killing. Several of the other soldiers jumped back in alarm. Sephiroth eyed them all coolly. "Does anyone else want to question my authority?" _

_No one spoke and Sephiroth was satisfied. He turned towards Eden, bending in front of her. She flinched but he paid no attention. Instead, he lift the tiny girl up into his arms, cradling her in one powerful arm as he slid his long sword into its sheath. Then he turned and walked away from the massacre. "Eden..."_

"Eden? Are you okay?" Eden's eyes opened and she looked straight at the ruins before her. All of the men were standing around her, looking a little concerned, except Sephiroth. He was just coolly looking around. It had been Rufus who had spoke up. Eden turned her eyes onto Sephiroth, giving him a look. "Why did you save me?"

The silver haired man looked at her while everyone else looked confused. There was a long silence before Sephiroth shook his head, a smirk on his face. "You were six years old. To kill a child, that's the worst thing that could ever be done."

Eden narrowed her eyes at him. "But there were other children besides me. Why save me and not them?"

"Because I couldn't have you killed." The silver haired tyrant said before he turned and walked away from them, probably going to explore.

Eden just looked after him before looking towards the house again. She then silently walked inside the ruins, looking around. There was nothing left in the house. No burned furniture, no dead body of her mother. But there was something shiny sitting in a pile of dirt. Frowning, Eden stepped over to it and bent down. She carefully reached down and picked it up. It was some kind of heart shaped amulate. Eden looked it over before finding a crack running through it. It could be opened, so that's what she did. She opened it and looked at what was inside.

Inside it, she found two pictures on each side and it brought tears to her eyes. She recognized the man on one side. It was her father and on the otherside was a picture of herself.

"Eden..." Dr. Ryuu whispered as he stepped up to behind her.

Eden closed the amulate and held it tightly in her hand. She closed her eyes before wiping the tears away and standing up straight. "This was my home, Dr. Ryuu. This was where I was born and raised until Shinra Inc. came and killed my parents." She whispered. She felt a hand touch her shoulder. She glanced to the side to see that it was Rufus's hand.

"I'm sorry, Eden, for what my father ordered the army to do."

Eden jerked out of his reach, giving him a very dark look. "No you're not! You're not sorry!" She snapped before she turned and stormed out of the house. Rufus watched her go before looking around, with a moody look.

"Give her some time to cool off, Rufus. Shinra has taken so much from her and has changed her terribly. You can't blame her for being angry." Dr. Ryuu said softly. Rufus shook his head as he turned towards him. "No, I can't blame her. But she can't blame me either. I wouldn't have had this happen if I was in charge."

"Wouldn't you?" Vincent asked from the corner. Rufus looked at him before turning away. "You had people die too, Rufus Shinra. You had ordered for us to be killed just so that you could look good."

The Ex-President turned back, giving Vincent a look. "I was wrong, all right? I'm sorry." He said harshly before walking out. Dr. Ryuu looked at Vincent. "Vincent, it's time to forgive him. And yourself." Then he followed after Rufus. Vincent glanced over at Yazoo and Rigal who looked back and then the three walked out.

Just as a steaming can came flying right into the group.

Everyone jerked around, some gasping in surprise before having a coughing fit. Vincent quickly covered his face with his red cloak, going down to his knee.

"What the hell is going on?!" Rigal exclaimed as he grabbed his guns, only to drop them as the sleeping gas began to kick in. Everyone else started to fall to their knees, gasping and coughing.

"Ho ho ho oh oh!"

Vincent's eyes widened when he heard that laugh. 'You've got to be kidding me.' He thought bitterly.

* * *

With the other group, Cloud was leading everyone into the village, Yuffie right at his side. "So, what now?" Zack asked as he looked around. Cloud shook his head as he walked. "I think it would be best if we split up and take a look around. Yuffie, ask some of the people if they've seen Drake or Marlene." 

Yuffie nodded. "Right-O, Cloud!" She said before looking at Reno. "Hey, red head! Come with me!" She said as she grabbed his jacket and pulled him after. Reno just grinned at the others. "It's a good thing she's cute, otherwise I would kill her for calling me that." He managed to say as he let Yuffie drag him after her. Everyone else just rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

"That girl is some kind of freaky, ya know." Zack said folding his arms.

Cloud sighed rubbing his head. "You have no idea, Zack." He then looked at Tifa. "Tifa, you and Barret take a look around while Zack and I head up towards the mountain pass. We're just going to take a quick look there to make sure that Drake doesn't head that way if he is here."

Tifa nodded as she and Barret glanced at one another. "Right." Then the two went off. Cloud and Zack looked at one another before they started towards the mountain.

"So, you see any weird guy with a little girl around here lately?" Yuffie asked as she leaned against the counter of the Materia store. The ladies running the place was giving her a suspicous look before they glanced at Reno, who tilted his head. "Yeah, Miss Kisaragi. Actually we have." One said. Yuffie's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?! Hey, Reno! Think we got 'em! Where have you seen them?!"  
Reno groaned as he caught onto the joke immediately and he gave the ladies a very cold look. "Hey, I think she means us, brainiac." He muttered. The ladies both nodded and Yuffie glared. "Oh! I'm going to kill you some day, you know that, Eren!"

Tifa looked around as she walked beside Barret. There was definitely worry and guilt on her face and the large black man could see it. He frowned before placing his hand onto her shoulder. "Tifa, somethin' wrong?"

The young martial artist looked at him before she sighed and lowered her head. "Yeah. You could say that. I'm so sorry I failed you, Barret. I should have watched over Marlene a lot better." She said softly.

Barret frowned before he stopped her from walking on. "Tifa, it wasn't your fault, girl! Don't you be blaming yourself for what happened. You tried to protect Marlene, I know you did. But that damn DuCaine just outsmarted us. He was fast, vicious and lethal. I'm just glad that you're alive. An' don't worry about Marlene. We both know her too well and if DuCaine was smart, he won't piss her off."

Tifa couldn't help but laugh and nodded. "Marlene is a bit of a handful. He's going to be surprised on how handful she is." She said. Barret nodded with a grin. "Just like her papa."

Tifa laughed with a nod but then she stopped when she saw a group of men ahead. She frowned seeing them. Barret noticed the look on her face so he looked at the men too. "Hey, Teef. Whatcha lookin' at?" He asked. Tifa shook her head as she nodded towards the group of men. "I know those men over there. Cloud, Aeris and I have met them one time. They used to be some of Don Corneo's men." She said.

Barret growled hearing that name. "You mean that fat freak that the Turks killed?"

Tifa nodded. "That's them. That one over there was one that Aeris shoved down the stairs." She said pointing at a buff black man with a red mohawk.

The large gun-armed man frowned as he studied each of the men. "What do you think they're doing here?" He asked. Tifa shook her head. "I don't know. They're probably just trying to look for fun. They were just like Don Corneo when he was alive."

Suddenly her phone started to ring. She pulled her eyes away from the group of men as she dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Hello?"

_"Tifa, it's Reeve. Are the others with you?"_

Tifa frowned. She didn't like the way Reeve was talking. He sounded almost he was being urgent. "No. Barret's only with me. We all split up to look for information on Drake."

_"Okay. Find Cloud for me. His phone's not responding. I think there's trouble with the other group. Rufus just tried to call but when Rude tried to find out what was wrong, Rufus didn't answer. All we could hear was coughing and then a strange and annoying laugh." _

"Reeve, I'm sure that other group is just fine. They have Sephiroth with them. If they're in trouble then it's because of Sephiroth decided to turn his back on us."

_"Maybe. We're going to send Rude out to see if he can find out what happened. In the mean time, can you tell Cloud and the others?" _

Tifa rolled her eyes and then nodded as if Reeve could see her. "Fine. I'll tell him. But I'm sure it's nothing." She said and then hung up. She shook her head as she looked at Barret.

"What's wrong?" The gunarmed man asked.

"Oh, nothing. Reeve's being paranoid, that's all. He said that Rufus tried to call them but all they heard was coughing and someone laughing idiotically. It could have been Rufus screwing around."

Barret frowned at the idea. "Yeah, maybe. But he doesn't seem to be the kind to be fooling around with the Turks. Shinra's too stuck up to pull pranks."

Tifa frowned as she thought about it. He had a point. Rufus really didn't do that much joking around. She wondered if he even knew a real joke. "Hm. Maybe we should tell Cloud right now. Just so that he'll know."

Barret nodded as he followed her back in the direction where they came from. They wandered until they found Cloud and Zack again. The two were sitting at the edge of the mountain, looking around until they saw their friends walking towards them.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Cloud asked immediately as he straightened. Tifa shook her head. "No. Only Barret and I spotted some of Don Corneo's old men around but no Drake or Marlene. Hey, the reason why we came over here is because Reeve just called and said that Rufus is screwing around or something. He called Rude's phone and all they heard was someone coughing and a horrible laugh. He thinks that Dr. Ryuu's group might be in trouble."

Both Ex-Soldiers glanced at one another before looking back at her. "Okay. What does he expected us to do? Go find out what the hell Rufus is doing making prank calls?" Cloud asked. Barret shook his head. "Spike, you and both know Rufus doesn't joke around. He's too friggen serious for god's sake."  
Cloud was quiet for a minute. He knew it was true. Rufus wasn't that funny and he didn't have a huge sense of humor.

After a minute, Cloud nodded. "All right. We'll call in Yuffie and Reno and wait for Rude's call. If something bad really did happen, then we'll go find out what happened." He said. The other three nodded. "Sounds good. But I'm sure it's nothing. And if it is, then we shouldn't worry too much. I might have not known Eden too long but I knew her longer than anyone else besides Dr. Ryuu. She is not to be underestimated. She could kick a Ruby Dragon's ass without any effort at all." Zack said. The others just nodded. They believed him. Eden did seem to be able to take care of herself.

Rude and Red XIII were making their way towards the ruined village where Rufus' signal was coming from. They paused now and then to recheck the signal, then continue on the way.

"Are you sure you know where you are going?" Red XIII asked, annoying the Turk a little.

Rude scowled at him. "Yes. Why do you keep asking that?"

The lion/dog gave him a fang filled grin. "Because I have a good nose and I'm smelling Rufus's scent coming from that way. We're a little off course." Rude grumbled and then let the creature lead the way.

They reached the ruins of the village not long after and none of them were ready to see what they were going to see. Every single man that had been in the group was facing down on the ground. Including Sephiroth.  
"What the hell?!" Rude exclaimed before he ran over to where Rufus laid. Red XIII quickly followed, rushing over to where Vincent was lying. "Oh my god! What's happened to them?!" He then halted and sniffed the air. His eyes widened at the smell. "Rude! I can smell a sleeping gas! Someone attacked them!"

Rude swore angrily as he turned his former employer onto his back. The blonde Ex-President groaned as he was starting to come too. "Damn it! Rufus! Rufus, wake up!" He called as he lightly slapped Rufus's cheeks.

Red XIII looked the others over before frowning. "Hey! Where's Eden?! She's not here." He said. Rude stopped trying to revive his former boss and looked around. He stood up, glancing around for the young girl. "What happened here? Where did she go? She wouldn't have attacked them, would she?"

Red XIII shook his head as he looked over at the stirring Dr. Ryuu. "No. I don't think she would. She thinks Dr. Ryuu as a father. There's no way she would attack them. Besides if she did, I think she would have killed Sephiroth before taking off." He then starting sniffing the ground. His eyes then narrowed. He knew that smell. He could smell Eden's scent but there was another scent mingling with it. "Wait. Someone has been here." He moved around, sniffing the ground. Rude just watched him curiously. "I can smell at least five different smells here." The lion/dog creature said as he kept on sniffing the ground. Then his head shot up with a very surprised look on his face. "That smell. I think I've smelt it before."

"You have." Somone groaned.

Rude and Red XIII jerked around to see Vincent pushing himself up. He was rubbing his head as if trying to get rid of a headache. And he probably was. The lion/dog creature rushed over to him. "Vincent! What happened here?! Where's Eden?!"

"Ow! Please don't shout! That sleeping gas has given me a headache!" Rufus said as he forced himself up. Everyone was starting to wake up now. Both Rude and Red XIII waited to let them get their bearings straight before Dr. Ryuu gasped and looked around. "Eden?! Eden!" He cried as he forced himself to his feet.

Rigal quickly stood up with the others. All of them looking very alarmed. Vincent actually swore as he stood up. "I believe he's taken her."

Everyone looked at him. "Huh? Who's taken Eden?! Did you see who attacked us, Valentine?!" Rufus asked still rubbing his temples. Vincent shook his head. "No. I didn't see him. But I heard him." He said calmly. Sephiroth eyed the dark, mystical man. "Are you going to tell us who it was or not?" He asked coldly. The Ex-Turk gave him a dark look but then told them.

* * *

"Come on! Aren't we suppose to be looking for clues to Drake and Marlene?! Why the hell are we waiting on Rude to call us about Rufus?!" Yuffie cried out. She was getting very bored but she wasn't the only one. Everyone was. Cloud was on the verge of just telling everyone to go back to searching. But he was also thinking about what might have happened to the other group. What if something had happened to them? He hoped not. He didn't care too much about Sephiroth or Yazoo but he didn't want anything to happen to the others. Not even to Rufus Shinra, who had sort of became his allie. 

Before he could say anything to the others, Tifa's phone rang. Everyone looked at her as she quickly pulled it out and answered it. "Tifa here."

There was a long pause before the martial artist nodded. "Yes. Cloud's right here. Want to speak to him? Okay." She looked at her best friend. "Cloud, it's Rude. He wants to talk to you. He sounds kind of rushed though." She said as she held out her cell phone.

Cloud nodded as he took the cell phone. "Rude, what is it?"

_"Cloud, we have a serious situation here. Red XIII and I found the other group down. Apparently someone had thrown a sleeping gas bomb at them and it knocked them all out." _

Cloud gave a short grunt. "Even Sephiroth?" He asked with amusement.

_"Yes, Cloud. Even Sephiroth. But it's not that funny as it should be. The person that attacked them took Eden. She's gone." _

The blonde now frowned. "What do you mean she's gone?" He saw Zack straighten up quickly while the others looked like they were holding their breath.

_"The attacker took her, Cloud. They knocked everyone out with sleeping gas and then took her. Red's trying to track down their scent now. But he's having a little hard time." _Rude told him.

"Does everyone know who attacked them?"

_"They didn't see him, Cloud. But Vincent swears he knew the voice that spoke before he was out like a light. And Red XIII recognizes one of the attackers smell. And you are not going to believe whose smell it is, Cloud." _

For some reason a shiver ran right up Cloud's back and he knew that he was not going to like this at all. But his curiousity was at its highest. So he asked. "Who is it, Rude?"

_"I'll tell you but you're not going to like it. It's Don Corneo." _

And Cloud didn't like it. His mouth fell open and a very confused look appeared on his face. He almost felt like someone had just called him a crossdressing homosexual. "What?!" He exclaimed. That definitely had everyone else's attention. "What?! What is it, Cloud?!" Tifa asked sounding very concerned. The blonde just shook his head. "Rude, say that again. Who attacked them and took Eden?"

_"I can't believe it myself, Cloud. But Rufus said he thinks he caught a glimpse of Don Corneo's stupid yellow mohawk. And Red XIII swears the scent he's smelling is Corneo's. He had been there with you fighting Don Corneo's stupid pet, wasn't he?" _

Cloud shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to take in all of the information. "No. Red wasn't with us when we fought Corneo's pet monster but he was with us when he first saw him in Yuffie's place. He would know his smell." He saw the looks on the others' faces. Even Reno looked stunned.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell did you just say, Strife?! Did you say Corneo?! As in Don Corneo?!" The red head exclaimed.

Cloud gave him a look. "Yes, Reno! Rude said it was Don Corneo that attacked them. And he's taken Eden."

There was an outburst about that. Reno started swearing loudly about how that was impossible. Tifa and Yuffie were both freaking out about Corneo taking Eden. Barret was ranting and raving about the perverted freak while Zack just stared wide eyed at Cloud, waiting for him to admit that it was a joke.

"This is so friggen impossible! Corneo can't be alive because he's dead! I let him drop off a friggen cliff!" Reno yelled. Cloud winced at how hight Reno's voice was before he lowered the phone and glaring at him. "Reno! Shut up! I can't hear what Rude is saying, god damn it!"

Tifa then gasped as she held up a hand. "Wait!" She cried. They all went quiet while she looked very thoughtful. Stunned but thoughtful. A look of realization was on her face as she looked back into the village. "Oh my god." She gasped.

Cloud frowned. "Tifa, what's wrong?"

His friend looked at him with wide eyes. "Corneo's men are in Wutai. And Rude is saying that it was Corneo who attacked them." It was dawning on the others. They all looked even more stunned. "Why would Corneo's men still be here if the Don was dead?"

"Oh man. This is really bad." Yuffie said as she backed away.

Cloud quickly went back to the phone. "Rude! Have Red XIII run back to the airship and alert Cid and the others! He has to take Dr. Ryuu with him though! You and the others get over here to Wutai as fast as you can. I think we can find out where Corneo's taken Eden! His men are here in Wutai and we're going to try to follow them." He said quickly.

_"All right, Cloud. I'll tell them right away!" _Rude said and they broke the connection.

Cloud stuffed Tifa's phone into his pocket and looked at the others. "All right! So Don Corneo's still alive. Some how he must have survived that fall. And now he's taken Eden. It's no wonder what he wants with her." He ignored the gagging noise from Yuffie.

"Who is he, Cloud? Why does he have Eden?" Zack asked.

It then hit the others that Zack had never heard of Don Corneo. Why would he? He had been to Midgar a few times but he'd never set a foot in The Honeybee Inn or even heard of Don Corneo. He was not that kind of guy who would hear of him. Cloud gave his friend an uneasy look. "He's a fat perverted bastard, Zack. That's who he is. He owned The Honeybee Inn and the entire Wall Street. It's more than likely he's going to try and make Eden one of his damn brides." He told him.

A very dark look appeared on Zack's face. He caught the drift of what Cloud was trying to say. Angrily, he clenched his fist making his knuckles crack. "If he harms one hair on her head, I'm going to not even use my daggers to killing him. I'll rip him apart." He hissed.

"Let's just hope that she doesn't kill him first. I've been wanting to give him a real nice ass whooping since he told Shinra where Avalanche was hiding." Barret growled.

Everyone nodded. "So what's the plan? We can't let Corneo hurt Eden like that!" Yuffie said. Cloud frowned before he looked at her. "Yuffie, Barret, you two wait at the entrance of the village. Wait for the others to arrive. We're going to try and follow Corneo's men. If we have to, we'll attack them and find out where they're hiding. We'll see what happens from there." He said. Both Yuffie and Barret nodded before they rushed off. Cloud looked at the other three. "Come on. Let's go find out where the hell Corneo is."


	17. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Okay, I can tell no one was really happy to see the fat freak, not that I blame you. I hate him a lot and that's kind of the reason why I want him in the story. Because he does get quite a few massive beatings. Anyway, quick shout out.**

**IluvAUs: Thank you for your review. Anyway, you're going to see quite a few plot twists now and then. And you'll just have to see later on who hired Drake. Believe me, you will be surprised, at some extent. Anyway, keep reading and enjoy.**

**AznPuffyHair: Yeah, I know that he was suppose to be dead in the story. But the thing is, I was really ticked off while I wrote these last few chapters and I really wanted someone to get beat up and Don Corneo was the first idiot that came to my mind. It's probably a dumb idea but all well. This is only a sidequest in the story. Anyway, read on.**

**linx79: lol. I guess it is kind of freaky. And I know it'd actually be really hard for them to get taken out by sleeping gas, so let's just say it was really strong sleeping gas...okay, dumb idea but all well. Lol. Oh, believe me. Cloud is irritated and sooner or later he'll blow his top. It'll actually be kind of funny when he does. Not everyone can stay too calm for too long, you know. Eventually he's going to lose his temper. **

**Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

****Chapter XVI:**

Her head was pounding like a jackhammer and she felt extremely sore. She could almost feel Phoenix inside her head trying to heal the headache away. Eden groaned as she started to stir from the darkness. She tried to lift her hand to rub her head but found that it was too heavy. No, not heavy. She couldn't move it at all. Her eyes snapped wide open as she realized that she was tied down to something. She could feel the tough leather against her wrists and ankles.

_'Eden! Are you okay?' _The Phoenix demon inside her head asked with concern.

Eden tried her best to look around but it was hard with the headache inside her head. She felt like someone had drugged her really bad. 'No, Phoenix. I'm not. Where are we?'

_'I'm not sure. It's really hard to see anything when you're unconscious. And whatever was in that sleeping gas couldn't let me take over at all. It froze up my power when it knocked you out.' _

Eden frowned as she reopened her eyes and looked around. She was in some kind of fansy looking room. The bed she was on was very soft and very lumpy at the same time. There was a very disgusting smell in the air as well. Eden had never smelled anything like it and she was afraid she already knew what it was. Then she saw the man next to the bed, grinning like a maniac.

He was the most disgusting looking man she had ever seen. And the largest. He must have been a little bigger than Barret Wallace, not that he was fat like this man was. He had a bleached yellow mohawk and was wearing a ridiculous scarlet velvet robe. And no pants under it. Eden immediately knew that she was not going to like this man. Especially with him looking her over like he was. He was even laughing to himself as his disgusting wide eyes looked her over.  
"Ho, ho, ho! Delicious! Scrumptious! She's the best looking one so far!"

Eden gritted her teeth as she pulled at the restraints. "Who are you?! Where am I and what am I doing here?!" She demanded.

The large man only laughed as he looked at her face. "Oh! She's very spirited too! I'm so going to love tonight!"

That made Eden freeze up. What did he mean? She had a feeling that she was not going to like this at all. She yanked at the restraints, trying to pull free. "All right! You have ten seconds to let me go or I'm going to break these restraints and chop you in half with my sword!"

The man only laughed again. "Pull away, my lovely girl. Those are adamatine chains and 100 leather. You will only hurt yourself. Oh, but the irony. I love it when women fight. It's so much more delicious."

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?!" Eden demanded.

The man smiled at her in a disgusting way. "My name, my dear, is Don Corneo and I want you. You see, I've been spending most of my time looking for a bride. Unfortunately, I just haven't found the right girl. But I think you are the one for me! You are so beautiful and you have very big..." He never got to finish that sentence.

Eden had enough. She already knew where this was going. Building up all the strength she had, she pulled her foot hard at the restraints that it finally snapped the leather and she kicked the fat man so hard in the face that it sent him flying across the room and hitting the wall so hard.

Don Corneo burst out full of curses while nursing a broken nose. "!! My friggen nose! You broke my friggen nose! Now my beautiful face is friggen ruined!!

Eden kept on yanking at her restraints, trying to get free. But she had used most of her strength into just kicking Don Corneo in the face so she was having a hard time. "Believe me, fat man! You were ruined from the day you were born!" She yelled.

The door burst open and in came some very large men. "Boss! What's happened?!" One exclaimed. Don Corneo pointed at Eden. "Tie her down! And make it very tight! And drug her!" He demanded. Eden began to fight tooth and nail to get away but because of the restraints, she couldn't break loose. The large men began tying her arms down with tought leather and she felt the prick of a needle in her arm.

* * *

Once they had started to follow Don Corneo's men, they began to plan how they were going to trap them. Of course Reno was just saying that they should just attack them without any plan at all and beat them up until they spill the beans. 

"God damn it, Reno! We are not going to just go up to them, beat the shit out of them, and threaten them until they tell us where Don Corneo is. They could lie to us, all right?!" Cloud snapped.

Reno scowled at him. "It would be so easy."

Tifa shook her head with Zack. "But they could lie to us, Reno. And if we attacked them, they might have a radio or phone with them. They could even warn Corneo that we're coming." The martial artist said.

"Hey, where are we going anyway? Doesn't this road lead us up to that Five Pagoda Tower?" Zack asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah it does. But it also takes us into some heavy forestry areas. Maybe Corneo has a shack built pass the village and is hiding there. Let's just hope that he hasn't done anything to Eden yet. You know how he is." He said. Tifa shuddered. "Oh, I hope she's okay. I know she's pretty tough and all but she won't be able to fight off Don Corneo and his men if she's still unconscious."

That was the exact moment when Cloud decided to halt in his footsteps and stare with wide eyes. The other three noticed and looked forward to see what he was looking at and they stared too.

"Aw, you gotta be shitting me! How in the hell did we miss that?!" Reno exclaimed.

The building standing before them was at least six stories high and had a distinctive Wutain look about it. There was lights flashing everywhere on the building and grew brighter as the sky was darkening for the night. A large blue Neon sign was hanging on the front and it read **Leviathan's Peepshow Haven**. Below it in smaller lit letters it said **Sexy girls! Sexy guys! And the legendary Leviathan is waiting! Don Corneo's Palace.** And what made things worst, was the fact that the building had used to be the Five Pagoda Tower.

Tifa stared up at the building with a wide eyed look and disgust all over her face. "You can not be serious!" She looked at the other three. "You don't think Godo allowed him to do that, do you?! He can't have! If he did, then Yuffie must have known! This is her hometown!"

Cloud slowly shook his head. "Somehow I don't think she knew. She must have been away for a while, probably looking for more materia. But if Don Corneo has turned the Five Pagodas Tower into his own pleasure palace, then it's no doubt that Godo knows about this. It is right next to his house."

Reno winced as he just stared up at the large sign and ran his fingers through his hair. "Aw, man. Wacky girl is going to be pissed when she sees this."

That was for the que for the spoken person to show up with the other group. "Who's going to be pissed? Why would they..." Yuffie stopped talking when she saw what they were looking at and she literately gasped.

Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Reno turned around to look at the other group, who all froze at the sight of the building. They were all there. Even Dr. Ryuu. Yuffie had a very horrorfied look on her face. She was too stunned that she even dropped her Crystal Cross. "Oh my gawd." She whispered. And then she let out a scream of rage. Everyone around her quickly covered their ears or stepped back away from her.

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!! GODO!! YOU ARE SO FRIGGEN DEAD!!"

Reno quickly stepped towards her and slapped his hand over her mouth to shut her up. He only recieved a blow to the stomach. "Don't touch me, Turk!! Right now I am so mad!" Yuffie screeched at him. Cloud gave her a look. "Yuffie, shut up! If you keep screaming like that, we can't sneak in there and rescue Eden!" He snapped at her.

Yuffie glared at him. "Cloud, don't you dare tell me to shut up. I have every right to be mad! That stupid nut I call a dad had told me that he found a way to make Wutai richer and more famous! But I was not expecting this!" She then began to stomp towards Godo's house. "Yuffie, where are you going?" Tifa asked. Yuffie turned back around and went back to get her Crystal Cross. "I'm going to find out what the hell is going on here and what Don Corneo is doing in the Five Pagodas Tower!" She said before storming towards the house.

Everyone just stood there for a minute before they hurried after her. They, too, wanted to know.

Yuffie lead the way into the house, slamming the door open as she allowed them in. She saw some of the top warriors in Wutai gathered together and sprung on them first. "Where is Godo?!" She demanded.

The short one cowered a little from her rage. She then pointed down the hall. "He's in his study."

Yuffie nodded and stomped down the hall. The others just followed but they heard one of them say, "See. I told you she'd be mad. You should have listened to me and told Godo not to make the deal with Corneo."

The entire group followed Yuffie until she slammed a sliding door to the side. Inside the room, Godo jumped in his chair. He had been in the middle of writing something. He gave them a wide eyed look. "Yuffie! You're home!"

Yuffie glared hard at him. "Yeah! I'm home and guess what I just saw! What the hell is Don Corneo doing in the Five Pagodas Tower?!" She demanded.  
Godo stood up giving her a scowling look. "Yuffie! Don't talk to me like that! What I do around here is my business. Besides, Don Corneo is helping us making Wutai richer! You should see all the materia we collected..."

For once, Yuffie did not happy to hear that. She just glared at him. "Godo! I should so kill you right now! Don Corneo is using you for more money! He's not doing for Wutai! And he's a sick pervert! The Water god, Leviathan would be so ashamed of you! Especially when you are letting Don Corneo violate his name like that!" She yelled at him.

"Now you listen here, young lady...!" Godo was yelling back. But that was when he noticed Sephiroth standing right behind Yuffie. He gasped and jumped back. "YOU!"

Yuffie nodded as she put her hands on her hips. "Yes. Him! Him, Rufus Shinra, the Turks! They're all here with me! Along with my friends. We're hunting down a guy who kidnapped a little girl, Godo. And that was what brought us here to Wutai. To find out if he had come here. But instead we find Don Corneo still alive! Do you want to know something?" She said coldly. She waited for Godo to look back at her. "Don Corneo kidnapped me once! He was going to rape me and now you are working with him!" That seemed to surprise Godo a little. Yuffie's eyes narrowed on him. "Well, guess what?! Corneo's business with Wutai is ending here! Like it or not." She turned around and looked at Cloud. "Cloud what's the plan?" She asked coldly.

Cloud didn't think anything of it on how she was talking to him. He only nodded as he looked around at everyone. "Dr. Ryuu, you are to stay here. You will be protected here. Rigal will be with you." He then looked at Reno and Rude. "You two will stay outside the Tower. Just in case Corneo tries to run from us. You'll catch him on the way out." He said. The two Turks nodded. Cloud then looked at Barret. "Barret, you wait with them. They'll need a gunner just in case."

The big black man nodded. "Right." He said lifted his metallic fist.

Cloud then looked at Sephiroth. "Sephiroth, I still don't trust you or Yazoo but I will let you help us. There is suppose to be a back door to the Pagoda. I'm going to need someone to watch that door." He said. Sephiroth and Yazoo both nodded. "We understand already what you're asking us to do. We'll watch the back door. If Corneo comes out that door, we'll be ready." The tall silver haired man said.

The blonde swordsman looked at Tifa, Rufus, Vincent and Zack. "We will go inside and face Don Corneo. Vincent, you mind staying with Sephiroth and Yazoo?" He asked. The tall dark haired Ex-Turk shook his head. "No. I'll stay with them."

"What about me?" Yuffie asked.

Cloud looked at her. "We need you to stay here. Make sure Godo doesn't try to warn Don Corneo." He said giving the already protesting Wutaian leader a dark look. Yuffie frowned. She obviously didn't like that assignament.

"Master Strife, we can do that."

Everyone turned to see the five Pagoda fighters standing there. Shortie nodded as she turned a glare onto Godo. "We never agreed with this whole deal! What Don Corneo is doing in the Pagoda is against our teachings! We don't like it."

Cloud's lip curved a little, threatening a sly smile before he nodded. "All right." He looked back at Yuffie. "Yuffie, you're coming with us. The Tower's yours anyway. I suppose you can demand that Don Corneo leaves Wutai." He said. Yuffie nodded with a smirk. "All right. Let's get to action."

* * *

Don Corneo's men were laughing about stupid sick jokes as they watched a television. "So what's the boss going to do with the girl?" One asked. Another shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe when he's done with her, he'll give her to us." He said. The third grinned. "I hope so. She's so hot."

Suddenly the door to the Pagoda burst open with a crash. The men all jumped and looked to see who was intruding. There stood five very angry looking people. Yuffie was in the lead. Cloud and Zack were right next to her while Tifa and Rufus was in the back. All of them glaring.

"Knock, knock!" The angry Thief Princess snapped.

"Where's the girl?!" Cloud asked coldly. The men all looked at one another before they charged the five. All five snapped to a fighting stance and scattered as the men began to attack.

Tifa did a no hander flip to the side before she smashed her foot into the man's face, sending him flying towards Cloud. Cloud bent over, waiting for the man to crash into him before slamming him to the ground. Rufus spun in a circle as one of them came at him. He then slammed the butt of his gun into the man's face, making him flying back. Just as Yuffie grabbed the back of the man's shirt and then flipped him into the counter. Zack ducked under a fist flying at his head and then brought up his knee into his stomache. The man doubled over before the black haired swordsman spun in a circle, giving the man a round house kick to the side. All three men were out like a light. But here came some more men running down the stairs. One Cloud recgonized. It was the man called Sharkey was in the lead. He was Don Corneo's right hand man. Sharkey gasped when he saw the group. He recognized all of them. "Oh no!" He turned and ran back up the stairs.

"He's probably going to warn Corneo." Rufus said as he looked at the others. Cloud nodded. "Yeah, he is." He then nodded to the blonde Ex-President. "Rufus, Zack, we'll take care of these guys. You go on ahead and make sure Don Corneo isn't doing anything to Eden. Keep him at bay until we get up there."

Both nodded and charged right through the group of men. The men would have attacked the two but the three Avalanche members interferred quickly.

Rufus and Zack both rushed up the stairs, meeting men coming at them and ignoring screaming girls. They were up on the fifth floor in no time. That was where a monster was waiting for them. Sharkey was standing there with it. "I hope you like this present the Don has left you. He shares his greetings for you and hopes you will have fun with it." He then turned and ran up the newly built stairs to the sixth floor. Rufus and Zack snapped to a fighting stance as the monster roared and started to charge.

Outside, Reno groaned as he leaned against the wall. He and the two large black men were bored to tears as they listened to the fights inside the Pagoda. "Sounds like they're having fun. This is so boring just standing outside like this." He said. But that was when the door slammed open and several men cam running out of the Pagoda, screaming in fear. The red head smirked as he looked at the other two, who grinned and they charged after them.

Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie hurried up the stairs and only went faster when they heard the roars of a monster. They found the two men fighting a nasty looking monster. It looked like a huge slimey Imp. Tifa shook her head. "Is there ever going to be a time where we don't have to fight one of Corneo's stupid pets?"

"I don't think so." said Cloud and they charged in to help Rufus and Zack.

Both Cloud and Zack were just slashing away at the monster while Tifa punched its sides as hard as she could. Yuffie flipped over it, throwing her Crystal Cross at it.

In no time, it was dead. That was then they heard a helicoptor.

"What's that noise?" Yuffie asked. The five all looked at one another before they dashed up the stairs.

The five burst through the door way only to see a small helicoptor starting to take off. Sharkey was waving after it. The five could see Don Corneo sitting in the helicoptor with an unconscious Eden Black lying on the floor. "Damn it! We're too late!" Zack exclaimed. Rufus narrowed his eyes before he started running towards the edge.

"Rufus! What are you doing?!" Cloud yelled.

But the blonde answered by jumping high into the air and reaching out for the helicoptor's landing legs. The other four watched as he nearly missed the foot and almost fell. It was only luck that Rufus caught it. "Damn it, Cloud. He's as crazy as you!" Yuffie said. Cloud then frowned as an idea popped inside his mind. He reached into his pocket and grabbed Tifa's phone. He did a speed dial and put the phone close to his ear. After a second, he nodded. "Cid! Bring the airship over right now."

_"Wha's the matter, Cloud?" _The gruff pilot asked.

Cloud shook his head. "Don Corneo's taken to the air. We're going to need to be in the air too to save both Shinra and Eden's ass."

Rufus used his strength to pull himself up onto the foot and then carefully looked into the helicoptor. Don Corneo was standing over Eden, looking at her with a sick grin. "Ho, ho, ho, ho, oh! I've gotten away again! Time for some real fun!"

Rufus's eyes narrowed as he readied himself to get up. He watched Don Corneo turn away from him to look at the pilot before climbing inside. The pilot noticed him first. "Sir! Watch out!" He yelled.

Don Corneo spun around with an alarmed look on his face. Rufus charged at him, ready to push the fat man out of the other side of the helicoptor. It was only unfortunate that the pilot made a sharp turn with the helicoptor making him stagger backwards. He would have fallen out if he hadn't caught the sides of the door. He looked over his shoulder to see the hundred foot drop. He looked forward to see Don Corneo grabbing a gun from his fat waist band.

"Well, well, well! It's the Shinra brat! It's a shame that your old man died! He was our best customer." The fat man said taking aim.

Rufus just narrowed his eyes at him dangerously. "Actually it's a good thing he's dead. And soon you're going to be joining him, Corneo. Why don't you just let the girl go before she wakes up and kills you?" He said coldly.

The fat man snorted. "I am bride hunting, Shinra. And you are not going to take her away from me. Not until I'm done with her."

Rufus gritted his teeth but lift his chin a little higher, not wanting to show any fear at all. "I am going to laugh when she kills you, Corneo."

Don Corneo smirked. "Not in your life time, Shinra." And he pulled the hammer back to get ready to fire.

Suddenly Eden kicked up right betwen his legs. She had woken up during the whole fray and had noticed how Rufus was holding onto dear life. She had noticed that he glanced at her while Corneo was saying that last bit and heard what he said. She just waited for the right time and then she struck.

"AHHHHH!" Don Corneo screamed as he went flying forward, holding his gonads.

Rufus quickly grabbed a hold of the door handle, getting out of the way while the Don came flying towards him. The bullet shot from the gun came very close to knicking his head but it wasn't close enough. The blonde Ex-President looked over his shoulder and watched the Don fall away from the helicoptor. "Hmph. Let's see him come back to life after that." He then felt the door handle give a jerk and he quickly looked to see that it was coming loose. "Shit." He hissed just as it broke. Rufus gritted his teeth as he started to fall but Eden quickly caught his hand and held on.

"You are so lucky that we're on the same side right now! Otherwise I would have just let you fall!" She yelled as she tried to pull him up.

Rufus let out a relieved sigh. "Well, I'm glad we're on the same side!" He climbed up onto the helicoptor but then he slipped again as the pilot turned the helicoptor making Eden lose her balance. She gasped as she hit the metallic ground and started to slide right off the helicoptor. Rufus caught her around the waist as he grabbed a hold of the seat belt and held on. Both of them were dangling off the helicoptor by the belt.

"Okay! Now I'm glad we're on the same side!" Eden gasped as she held onto Rufus tightly. They both looked up to see the pilot aiming a gun at them. "Aw, damn it."

Suddenly there was a loud gun shot and the helicoptor windshield shattered. Rufus and Eden both looked straight ahead to see the Shera airship flying towards them and it had been Vincent Valentine who shot the pilot. Of course it wasn't the exact right decision because as soon as the gun man had shot the pilot, the helicoptor controls went haywire and it began to lose spin around. Rufus held on tighter as twisted his body around and slammed into the side of the helicoptor.

"Ow!" He groaned. Eden quickly grabbed a hold of the helicoptor foot and stood up on it with great effort. She grabbed a hold of Rufus's hand and helped him up. They were having a hard time holding on though.

"Rufus! Eden! Jump!" They heard Cloud yell to them.

They looked up to see the airship speeding after them. The two looked at one another. "Well, let's get off this stupid thing!" The Ex-President yelled. Eden nodded to the blades above them. "What about those?! We could hit them!" She yelled back at him.

Rufus quickly got into his jacket and yanked out his shotgun. He aimed at the neck of the blades and fired. There was a loud crash and the blades went flying off. The helicoptor really began to fall this time. Rufus quickly slid the shotgun back into its place and wrapped his arm around Eden's waist. She only gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything. They both jumped as hard as they could off the helicoptor towards the outstretched hands of the Turks and the Avalanche members. Rufus threw out his hand to catch theirs. But missed.

"Damn it!" He yelled as he and Eden began to fall. They both looked up just in time to see Vincent Valentine dive right off the ship, without wearing his blood red cloak. He fell rather quickly, grabbing Rufus's hand. "Hold on!" He yelled before he turned his body around and threw them both right back up towards the airship with all the strength he had.

Rufus and Eden flew back towards the airship and was caught by Barret and Sephiroth. They were now safe.

"Vincent!" Yuffie and Tifa both cried. Everyone looked down to see Vincent still falling. "Damn it! He's friggen crazy!" Reno exclaimed as he helped Rufus over the railing.

Just then, a black aura surrounded Vincent's falling form and two bat like wings snapped out of his back. He was transforming. It startled most of everyone but Cloud frowned. "He's calling Chaos." He revealed.

"Sh-it! I hope he can hold that bugger off. Like I want to be fighting him again!" Barret yelled over the speeding winds. They watched as Vincent vanished and the black demon appeared. It caught itself and started to fly towards the airship. All of the Avalanche members grabbed their weapons, waiting to see what would happen. It was much to their relief when Chaos landed on the railing and transformed right back to Vincent. His blood red eyes looked straight at Rufus and Eden, who were trying to catch their breath.

"Are you all right?" He asked in his calm way.

Both nodded. Dr. Ryuu hugged Eden close to him. "Eden! Are you okay?! Did Corneo...?" He was asking. Eden shook her head as brushed him off. "I'm fine, Dr. Ryuu. That fat freak never touched me because I broke his stupid nose." She said. Everyone smiled.

Rufus ran his fingers through his hair before smirking. "Well, looks like Don Corneo's not going to be coming back to life again. There's no way in hell he lived that fall." He said. Cloud blew out a sigh and shook his head. "You'd be surprised then."

The blonde Ex-President frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"The damn fat man had a parachute on. He pulled it before he hit the friggen ground!" Cid grumbled. Rufus scowled silently. "You have got to be kidding me. Where did he go?"

The others then smiled. "Oh, he didn't go very far. He's on foot and being chased down by some of Wutai's ninjas. Yuffie ordered the search. In no time, they'll have him." Tifa said folding her arms. Rufus and Eden both smirked. "Good. So what now? I don't suppose we are going to Wutai to continue the search for Drake, are we?" The Ex-President asked.

Cloud shook his head. "He's not there. He's never been there. Dr. Ryuu had asked Godo about it. No one has see him. Or Marlene. We're going to Rocket Town next. To see if Shera might have seen them." He said. They all nodded in agreement. Except the two silver haired men, Yazoo and Loz looked at one another with confusion.

"Who's Shera?" Yazoo finally asked after a minute.

Everyone glanced at him, some not even looking like they were going to answer but then Cloud nodded towards Cid. "She's Cid's wife. She's also one of the most brilliant women I've ever met. She's very smart and she treats all of us as if we were her children." He couldn't help but smile when everyone else did. Tifa nodded as she folded her arms.

"That's right. She's one of the most kindest women. She's very polite and kind. She wouldn't put anyone down and she used to take a lot of verbal abuse." She said. Cid looked down when she said that. A guilty look flashed across his face but then a very passionate look was on it too. He had even smiled faintly. "

"Yeah. She's great. I can't see why I hadn't seen it before now."

Everyone else just smiled and shook their heads. "We know, Cid. We know." Reeve said. Cloud nodded. "Full speed ahead to Rocket Town."

Cid nodded. "All right. Hold on to your asses. We'll be there within 15 minutes." He said as he began to pilot the airship in the different direction.

Eden turned and left the room to go to her room without anyone noticing. She wanted to be left alone for a while. But when she reached the rooms, she paused before entering the room. She could feel eyes on her and she didn't like it. She turned to find Yazoo there. He faked a look of surprise as if he he didn't know she wasn't there. But he stopped when he realized that he couldn't fool her.

"Why are you following me?" She asked sternly.

The silver haired man glanced around before lazily shrugging. "I just wanted to see if you were okay." He said quietly. Eden rolled her eyes. "I told you and everyone else that I was fine. Don Corneo didn't touch me." She said.

Yazoo shook his head. "No. I mean about earlier. Before the Don attacked us. When we were in the village."

Eden was quiet for a minute before she looked away. There was a look on her face. A look of pain and anger. "I'm fine. I wish you people would stop asking me that!" She said with annoyance. She turned to start walking away but stopped when she heard the silver haired man mutter, "Sorry".

With a sigh, she turned back. For some reason, she couldn't stay mad at this man. He may have been Sephiroth's brother or something but he wasn't him. She had no reason to be angry with him. She turned to see him starting to walk away. "Wait." Yazoo stopped and turned slightly to look at her. Eden threw her arms up in the air as she turned away. "He killed my people, my family. He had them all butchered just because he was ordered to by Shinra. Can you really blame me for hating me? Your brother?"

Yazoo thought the question over before he shook his head. "I guess I can't. A lot of people hates him. They even hate me and my brothers. I can't hate Sephiroth because I never knew him, not before now."

Eden looked at him in a curious way. "I guess we're more different than I thought we were."

Yazoo stepped closer to her. "May I ask how are we different?"

The red haired warrioress looked at him before shaking her head. "You are a remnant of Sephiroth, right? Well I'm not. I'm not the remains of someone." She said. Yazoo just looked looked at her before looking at his hands. "Even so, I'd think we looked alike." He said quietly. Eden looked at her own hand. The two just stood there in silence before Yazoo did something a little bold. He reached out his hand and took Eden's. The young warrioress gave him a look but he ignored her. He then held up one hand and pressed hers against his but not by much. The two just looked at their hands pressed against each other's.

"Our hands are alike as we are." Yazoo said softly. Eden's face softened as she continued to study her hand. After a minute she took his own hand and pulled the leather glove off his hand. He just let her. His eyes were looking at her perfectly tanned hands while his own were slightly pale. Eden just looked his hand over before looking at her own. After a long minute, she let go of his hand and gave his leather glove back to him. He took it with a faint smile, which she returned. "I guess we may be different but alike." She said quietly. Yazoo only nodded.

They both were unaware that someone was watching them. Rufus Shinra was glaring at the silver haired man from around the corner. He was not liking this at all. He didn't like it when Yazoo was holding her hand. He wanted so much to go over and shoot him. But he knew he couldn't. He knew how much Eden hated him. She would probably attack back.

"Getting jealous?"

Rufus jumped a little and turned to see who had snuck up behind him. It was Cloud. He was smirking as if he knew something. Rufus lift his chin before glancing back towards Eden and Yazoo, who had noticed him. The red haired woman gave him a look before going onto the room she was staying in. Yazoo only watched her before walking towards Rufus and Cloud.

"You know, as much as I find this amusing, I'm going to warn you two." Cloud said. The other two only looked at him curiously. "You two, I really don't care about. Rufus, you can take care of yourself and you, Yazoo, I don't really like you. So I don't don't care what you do. But if you start fighting over a girl and you get hurt or you hurt someone, I'm going to kick both of your asses. Do you hear?" Cloud warned.

Rufus and Yazoo only glanced at one another in confusion. Cloud narrowed his eyes at them. "I'm not an idiot. And neither is the others. We all know who you two are after. And personally I don't care about your love triangle. But Eden is not someone you can just fight over for and win like a prize. She is a person and she has feelings. And if she likes one of you, she'll let you know. But if she doesn't, back off. Because if I have to, I will back her up in beating the shit out of you."

Rufus frowned at him. "What are you talking about, Cloud? I don't think you know..."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Shinra. I have been watching you very closely since we met Eden. Don't take me as a fool." Cloud said his voice raising a little. "We have a few things to be worrying about right now and it's not to see who gets Eden. She probably hates everyone right now, from what she has been through. Here's a reality check! There are unusual monsters all over the place, a madman has kidnapped a little girl, and he might be working for someone who's threatening the Planet!" The blonde glared at Rufus. "Take a cold shower and keep your horomones in check or get off the damn airship! We're here to make sure the Planet stays safe!" He then turned away. "And if Eden kills you because you were chasing her, I'm not going to avenge you for your foolishness." With that, he was gone. Rufus and Yazoo only glanced at one another before they walked in different directions.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter XVII:**

The airship, as Cid had said, reached Rocket Town within 15 minutes. Everyone split up to do different things while Cloud, Tifa, and a few others followed Cid towards his house. Some of the people didn't pay too much attention to them for they knew most of the group. Rufus Shinra, they ignored completely. They weren't too happy that he was around, like many others had been.

"Shera!" Cid called as he pushed the door open. Everyone filed in, glancing around the house for their older friend. "Shera! Damn it, woman, where are you?!"

"Shh!" Shera said as she stepped out of the back room. She gave her husband a scornful look as if he had done something wrong. "Be quiet. You'll wake up Kale. He's so tired from his work today. He needs his rest." Cid frowned as he glanced at the others with confusion.

Cloud tilted his head before nodding. "Who's Kale?" He asked, glancing at Cid.

The pilot just shook his head. "Helluva I know!" He looked at Shera. "Who the frick is Kale?"

Shera frowned at him but then smiled. "He's just this kind young man that came to town two days ago. He's been helping me around the house to pay for his stay. The inn keeper didn't seem to want to let him stay there. So I let him come here. He's been working on the Tiny Bronco, trying to make it work again. He's doing a good job." She told them. She then stepped towards Cid. "Welcome home, Captain." She then kissed him. Everyone just smiled before they were welcomed by Shera. "I'm so happy to see you all here again. What brings you here? And who are your friends?" She asked looking at Zack, Dr. Ryuu and Rigal.

Cloud motioned to each one and introduced them to Shera. "Shera, the reason why we came here is to ask you if you happened to see a man in dark robes with Marlene?" He asked then.

Shera frowned before shaking her head. "No. I haven't seen Marlene for quite some time. Not since the last time you all visited. But there was been quite a few strangers coming to town lately. I don't think any of them were wearing dark robes though. Why do you ask?"

Everyone glanced at one another with looks in their eyes. "We're afraid Marlene as he been kidnapped, Shera. A man named Drake DuCaine attacked Tifa a few days ago and has taken her." Cloud told her.

Shera gasped softly and looked horrorfied. "Oh no. Is she...I mean, do you think she's all right? That poor child."

"We hope she's okay. But we're not sure. We have to find this man to find her. She's in mortal danger in his hands." Tifa said sadly. Shera sighed and lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help. But I haven't heard anything."

"I have."

Cloud stiffened when he heard that voice. He knew it from anywhere and so did the others. They all looked towards the back room where Shera had come from to see a familiar face peering at them from around the corner. The young man looked almost shy to come out. Cloud quickly grabbed the handle of his sword, ready to pull it. The young silver haired man moved back a little as if to disappear back into the room but stayed where they could see him.

"Kadaj." Cloud muttered.

Shera looked confused but Cid looked angry. "What the hell is he doing here?" He growled. Shera frowned at him. "This is Kale, Cid. He's been helping me so don't be rude." She said The pilot began to curse.

Kadaj then made up his mind to coming out of the room. He slowly walked out and towards the others. Tifa quickly grabbed Denzel and pulled him behind her while the others looked ready to fight. Kadaj only glanced at them before looking at Cloud. "Hello, big brother. It's good to see you again." He didn't say it as he normally would but Cloud still scowled. "I"m not your brother. So stop calling me that!" He said sharply.

Kadaj only narrowed his eyes at him before he noticed someone standing in the door way. His eyes dashed over to the much taller silver haired man and he looked surprised. "Sephiroth!"

The others only glanced over their shoulders to see Sephiroth smirking there. He then glanced over at them, giving them a reassuring look.

Cid then growled under his breath. "Lemme guess. He's one of us too?" He grumbled.

Sephiroth only nodded. "He's the last of our party."

Cloud frowned but then let go of his sword, relaxing a little. "You said you heard something?"

Kadaj gave a nod as he stepped a little closer. "Yes. There's men here, saying they have orders from a man called Drake DuCaine. I don't think they're waiting for him to come here. I think they're waiting for you to show up. I heard them planning to attack Rocket Town when they see you here." He told them.

"And you aren't apart of them, are you?" Cloud said sarcastically.

Kadaj only frowned but shook his head. "No. Ever since I came here, they've been afraid of me. Every time they look at me, they try to keep their distance from me. I'm guessing that's why they haven't done anything yet."

Suddenly there was an explosion from outside, making everyone in the house jump. Each one grabbed their weapons, looking ready to fight. Even Kadaj. He yanked out the katana he had strapped to his back, his eyes blazing with fury. Cid immediately began to curse as he started towards the door.

"Damn it! If they trash my town, there's going to be Hell to pay!" He yelled and raced out. Cloud only glanced towards Kadaj, who looked back. He didn't look happy at all as he looked right back at the blonde.

Without any word, Cloud rushed out of the house, with everyone behind him. They raced out to the square where they found at least thirty men surrounding Eden, Yazoo, Yuffie and the two Turks. All of them were sneering at the glaring five. Cloud noticed the look on Zack's face before he watched him rush forward, his hands whipping out the daggers.

"Hm." He muttered before he turned towards the others. "Try to immoblize them if you can. We need to find out who they are and who they're working for."

Everyone nodded before starting forward. Tifa pushed Denzel over towards Dr. Ryuu, looking him right in the eye. "Denzel, you stay with Dr. Ryuu. Don't you dare try to get in the fight." She told him. The little boy nodded before glancing up at the kind doctor as he wrapped an arm around him. "Don't worry. He'll be safe with me." He said. Tifa nodded before she cracked her knuckles and rushed towards the men with her friends.

Cloud turned his attention over to Sephiroth and Kadaj, giving them a look of warning. "Don't kill them if you can help it. We need them alive."

Sephiroth smirked coldly before glancing at the smaller silver haired man beside him, giving him a nod. Kadaj nodded back and they both walked forward calmly.

"Hey there, sweetheart. Someone wants to have a word with you." One of the men sneered. Eden glared at them as did the others. "Yeah? Well tell me who it is so I can go talk to them myself and see if they're even worth talking to." She said coldly. She yanked out her sword and stood ready.

"Sorry, babe. We're not messenger boys. We're delivery boys. You're coming with us." One said smirking. Yazoo yanked out his gunblades and slashed the air at both of his sides. His eyes blazing with fury and determination. Yuffie, Reno and Rude all snatched their weapons. "She's not going anywhere with you." The silver haired man said dangerously. Eden only glanced sidewards at him before looking back at the men.

All of the men laughed. "Oh yeah? Who's going to stop us? You?! Don't make us laugh."

"No. Us."

All of the men jerked around, some looking up as someone flipped right over their heads and landed right between them and Eden. It had been Zack who had said it and flipped over the men. He jerked around, his daggers tightly in his hands. If looks could truely kill, all of these men would be dead by now. "Hello, boys. Remember me?" Zack hissed.

The leader of the group stepped towards Zack, sneering as he looked him over. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here. If it isn't our old pal, Jake. How's the family doing?" He then gasped with a mock of surprise. "Oh! I forgot! They're all dead!" He laughed.

All of his men laughed with him. Zack's face grew red with rage. Even Eden looked outraged. So these were the men that killed Zack's family. They were the ones that Zack was hunting down. "What you did to the farmer and his family was wrong! You will pay dearly for their death!" Zack snapped. The gang of men all laughed. "Oh yeah?! You and what army, Jake?! It's thirty against one. You can't fight all of us."

"Make that thirty against us, The mercenary group, Avalanche!" Cloud said dangerously as he stepped closer. The men all jerked around to see that they were completely surrounded by the group of warriors.

Rufus nodded as he cocked his shotgun and took aim. "Add Shinra to that!" He said coolly. Reno and Rude both nodded with smirks on their faces.

Then Sephiroth pulled out his Masamune. He slashed the air, making it whistle. As did Kadaj, his eyes on the men dangerously. At his side, Loz cracked his knuckles as he extended his arms in a fighting stance. "Plus the four of us." Kadaj said in a cold tone.

The men's smiles were starting to fade to see that they were up against a lot of people they knew that were extremely dangerous fighters. They eventually turned around when they saw Eden starting glow with a red aura. Her eyes were not lavendar anymore. They were firery red. "And the Phoenix shall play too." She spoke, her voice layered with the demon's.

"Throw down your weapons and you won't die." Cloud said coldly.

The men all glared at the people around them before they all yelled out battle cries and charged. "KILL THEM ALL! SPARE THE GIRL!" The leader yelled before he lashed out at Zack.

A large battle broke out between the groups. Spells were being flung at one another, luckily not one of the Town had been damaged in the fight. There were gunshots from the gunmen and occassionally Eden when she yanked out her Outsider. Tifa and Loz were just punching the daylights out of any man that attacked them. Zack and the leader of the group were slashing at one another, deflecting each other's blades as they danced a very lethal dance. Their eyes blazing with hatred for one another.  
"You can't kill me, Jake! You're too soft!" The leader yelled as he brought his double bladed sword down towards Zack's head.

The black haired swordsman leapt back, spinning in a circle to slash the leader. "I may be soft, buddy! But I'm not soft for you! You're going to die for what you did to Jessamine! I will kill you for her!" He yelled before he slashed the leader's arm. The leader cried out in pain before he continued to attack Zack viciously, with more rage than skill.

The battles didn't last that long. A few had been killed, bursting into black dust as the monsters usually did. Yet there was a fair few that still lived. They were either unconscious or beaten down badly. None of their enemies had recieved injuries though. It was only the men that were bloodied, bruised or broken. Everyone else just stood over them, looking around for something else to do. But it was Zack who decided he wasn't going to show pity on them. He stood over the cut up leader, bending down over him and grabbed his shirt. The leader whimpered a little as the black haired man raised a dagger, ready to stab into him.

Zack's eyes were blazing with anger. "How does it feel, you heartless killer? To be killed just like that family was killed?" He growled dangerously. "How does it feel to be killed by the avenger of that family? Why did you kill them?! Why did you take the goodness from the Planet?!"

When the man didn't answer, Zack gritted his teeth and brought back the dagger, ready to slash the Leader, to end his miserable murdering life. Everyone but Eden looked on with wide eyes or concern but the red haired warrioress looked on with sterness.

Before Zack could kill the leader, Cloud stepped forward and caught his friend's arm. "Zack! No!"

Zack's eyes flickered over his shoulder to the blonde at his side before glaring back down at the man on the ground. "Cloud, let go of me. He deserves to die." He hissed. Cloud stood defiant, still holding onto his arm. "No, Zack. We need him alive. He knows who Drake works for. If he can tell us, then we can find her."

"Cloud! He killed a fifteen year old girl! I must kill him! His men had bashed a five year old boy's head in! I'm not going to sit here and let him live a second longer!" Zack said as he glared right into the Leader's terror filled eyes.

Cloud shook his head, still holding his friend's arm. "Zack, I won't let you become a cold hearted killer. Not like him. He has information we need. He may know where Marlene is." He said calmly. Zack gave a threatening growl as he attempted to jerk out of Cloud's grip, but the blonde continued to hold on. "He killed my family! He killed the people that cared for me and took care of me when I couldn't do it myself!" He snapped.

Cloud still didn't let go. "Zack, please. It's time to let go. I don't want you to become him. Killing him like this isn't right."

There was a very long silence before Zack sighed, closing his eyes. He released the man and stood up, with Cloud's help. "You're right. I'm sorry." He whispered back. Cloud only patted his arm and they both turned away from the leader.

Suddenly there was the sound of a gun being cocked and both halted in their footsteps. Then there was two gunshots, one slicing past Zack's arm and the other slamming into the Leader. Both swordsmen spun around only having to jerk their heads back as black dust shot towards their faces. Everyone else just either hurried over to Zack and Cloud or looked straight at Yazoo, who was glaring at the dust pile with his gunblade in his hand. His eyes then lift up and looked Cloud right in the eye, as the blonde looked at him with surprise but suspicion. The long silver haired man then lowered his gunblade and his eyes.

"Sorry." He muttered.

But then Cloud shook his head as he glanced down at the gun the Leader had fired at Zack's back, then at the minor cut in his friend's arm. It wasn't at all serious. The blonde swordsman couldn't deny it anymore. Yazoo might as well had just saved their lives from getting shot. He had finally earned Cloud's trust.  
"Don't worry about it, Yazoo. You did it to save us." Cloud said quietly before he looked around at the other fallen men. He missed the grateful look from Yazoo, as the young man faintly smiled before frowning again. "We need to question the rest of the men. Find out what they know." Cloud said. Everyone nodded and they all went over to question a man.

It took almost an hour before they learned anything. Most of the men turned out to be suiciders and ended up killing their selves with poison or such. Others turned out that they didn't know anything they had gotten into. It was only then did a young man that Vincent had question, more like terrorized, did they learn anything.

"I swear, I wouldn't have taken this job if I had a choice! I was going to die, man! I swear! They threatened me that if I didn't help them, they would chop me up and feed me to the Manticores!" He cried, frightened tears running down his cheeks. His name turned out to be Zone.

The entire group looked at one another with confusion when they heard the word, Manticores. They were asking the same question. What was a Manticore? Of course, only Dr. Ryuu seemed to recognize the word, for his eyes widened with horror. But he didn't say anything.

"Tell us what you know, Zone. They won't come after you as long as you're with us." Cloud said calmly.

The young man nodded, wincing in pain from his arm. It had been Yuffie who sliced him up pretty good. He was lucky enough to still be alive after what she did to him. "Please, don't kill me if I tell you. I swear I won't go back to them and tell them that you know. I'll do anything to stay alive! Anything!" The young man cried.

Cloud glanced around at the others, who looked back before they looked back at him. "We won't kill you, Zone, as long as you do what we ask. Who hired you and who is Drake DuCaine working for?" Sephiroth said firmly.

The young man took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. "All right. The man that hired me, along with several others, was Drake DuCaine. He came to the small town of Stoneville, the small town near Cosmos Canyon and that's how I heard about this whole thing. He said to a lot of men that if we didn't help, he would kill us. Some of us didn't even believe him. When some guys tried to walk away, Drake did something really weird. He started cutting up the men. He cut them up so bad that they didn't even look human anymore. I had never seen anyone so fast! One second, he was standing right in front of us, at least twenty feet away and the next, there was twenty five men dead! He's not human, man! No way he's human!"

Everyone looked alarmed or suspicious while a few were deep in thought. One definitely being Dr. Ryuu. He was taking down the information quietly, putting his intelligent brain into action. Eden knew that look on his face from anywhere.

"Anyway, we all agreed out of fear. We didn't want to die like the others did. Whatever DuCaine told us to do, we did it. No questions ask, unless we had our chongs ripped out." The young man told them.

Cloud nodded before he held up a fist full of dust, showing the young man, who flinched from it. "How is it when you die, this is what you become?"

The man shook his head, looking even more scared. "I don't know. All I know is that when we die, we become that stuff. Before the jobs started, some old geezard looked us over, before giving us shots. He injected some freaky shit into us to make us two times stronger and faster than we used to be. It really burned like a bitch from the after affects." He said. Each person looked at one another with surprise before frowning sternly.

"An old geezard? Do you know who the man was? Did he say what his name was?" Rufus asked.

The man nodded. "Yeah, but I don't remember. Because of the injections we got, the pain pretty much left our minds blank from the names we heard. We knew Drake's name because he kept ordering us around. You can't really forget his name."

Dr. Ryuu finally stepped closer, his eyes narrowing a little in confusion. "The liquid that was injected into you, do you remember what it was?"

The young man shook his head. "No. They didn't tell us what it was. They only called it J-juice. But I'm pretty sure that it was Mako. The old man was dead crazy, I'll tell you that. I resisted a few times before my shots. I ended up getting punched a few times by DuCaine or snapped at by the man. He even threatened me that if I kept fighting, he would sick his Manticore on me."

Once again, a look of confusion appeared on everyone's faces. "What the hell is a Manticore?" Barret growled. Everyone else just shrugged, but Dr. Ryuu stayed quiet.

The young man winced a little. "A Manticore is a vicious creature. It's one of the new monsters. I've seen one in action once, and I swear I never want to see it again. It's the worst monster besides the Celebrays. They have spines on their backs and when they slam their tails into you, if your not dead yet, you sure will be." He said. Cloud and Rufus quickly looked at one another, both thinking the same thing. The monsters from the Chocobo Ranch. But there was another question to be asked.

"Do we dare to hear about what the Celebrays are?" Zack asked.

"The Celebrays are just as dangerous. They're not fast at all. They're very slow. But they are very smart. They are like giant brains with bone coverings and tissue. I've never actually seen what they can do, but I heard from one guy that they can read minds. There's no way you can keep one out of your head. Not even if you're a master at Manipulation. They can beat you at manipulation." He told them. Dr. Ryuu slowly nodded, taking in the information.

"What about the old man, Zone? Tell us more about him. What did he look like and was he in charge?" Cloud asked.

Again the man shook his head. "I don't remember what he looked like. We rarely saw him in the room. It was always dark. He didn't seem to like the light that much. And I know he was second in command. He was under the command of the Lady."

That perked up everyone's attention. "The Lady? Who's the Lady? Did you ever see her?" Aeris asked her question.

The young man shook his head. "No. I've never seen her. None of us were allowed to look at her. We could hear her though. She can speak through our minds. It's like we're connected to her in some way. I won't be surprise..." He cut off with a gasp. Everyone just stared at him with alarm.

"What is it, Zone? What's wrong?" Cloud asked, bending down by the young man's side.

Zone made a choking sound, as if someone was choking him. He even started shaking violently and he fell to the ground. Everyone was very alarmed at what was happening to him. Cloud quickly grabbed Zone and propped him up. "Zone! What's wrong?!"

Dr. Ryuu rushed forward, throwing himself down by Zone's side and he quickly began checking his vital signs. The young man's eyes grew wider, almost popping out of his head. Cloud could see the veins in his eyes. They weren't red as they normally would be. They were blue. Even Zone's eyes turned bright blue and he knew that they had been brown a second ago. The eyes seemed familiar.

Cloud narrowed his eyes as he just stared into Zone's eyes, which slowly looked at him. A cold smirk curled on his lips as he just looked right at Cloud.

_"Hello, Cloud Strife." _A very cold voice came from the young man's body.

Cloud immediately leaped back as did Dr. Ryuu. They looked as if they had been electricuted. Even the four silver haired brothers looked alarmed. Never had Sephiroth looked so surprised before. There was a cold giggle from Zone as he just stared right up at Cloud. His body was still arched in several areas and he looked like an invisible person was holding him up.

_"I see you remember my voice. The voice that haunted you at times." _Zone's eyes slowly looked right at Sephiroth, who stepped back in surprise. They seemed to grow colder just by the sight of him. _"And you, Sephiroth. You failed me, just like your pathedic remnants. You are not worthy of my blood line." _

Everyone looked at the four silver haired men, who just stared at Zone with shock. For once, Kadaj looked scared. Even Yazoo's face was twisted with fear. Loz even started crying.  
Zone's eyes slowly looked each person over, pausing on a few people. One being Vincent, who for once lost his calm exterior. He was just staring into the blue eyes with a look as if he had one of his nightmares again.

_"Even you failed me, Vincent. You should have never let him touch me." _Cloud made a quick glance at Vincent, who's eyes squinted in confusion. The Ex-Turk did not like this at all.

Then the blue eyes looked straight at Eden, who remained stern as much as she could. She was not going to tremble under these eyes. She did remember them. She had seen them so often in her dreams that seeing them now did not surprise her. The smirk on Zone's face vanished. A deep look of loathing was all they saw now.

_"You, Phoenix, will fail the Planet. I will make sure that you are broken, beaten so badly. The Projects will be combinded. You can not stop me. The bird of life will be shot down from the sky and no longer will rebirth save you." _The cold tone even made Eden shiver a little as she glared into the blue eyes. _"As for the girl, she will take your place that you were suppose to fill a long time ago." _

"Are you talking about Marlene?!" Barret roared as he finally came to life. Zone looked coldly at him, which he did not flinch under the gaze at all.

_"I do not care for her name. And you should not care for her anymore. For she will die and be reborn as the new Calamity. The girl is good as dead." _

Barret roared with rage as he aimed his gunarm. Sephiroth quickly grabbed his arm, to make him stop from shooting Zone. "No! He's not himself, Barret!" He said quickly. Everyone only glanced at him with confusion. Barret yanked away from him. "What're you talking about?!" He snarled. Sephiroth looked Zone back in the eyes. "He's under a spell. Can't you see it? That's not him speaking."

Aeris nodded as she shivered. "He's right. I can sense it too. He's being controlled by something evil."

Zone laughed coldly as he placed his icy stare onto her next. Aeris didn't look too comfortable with him looking at her. She even coiled back until she was against the person behind her, who happened to be Rigal.

_"You may be an Ancient, but you will fall just like you did before. I will make sure that you die a worst death than you recieved years ago. Praying for Holy will not stop me this time. You can not stop the Calamity that is to come. The end of the Planet will come very soon. And none of you," _The blue eyes turned back into Eden's lavender colored ones, which were slowly turning red as the Phoenix's rage was boiling over. _", not even the bird of life will save the Planet. Every soul that lives in the Lifestream will be mine. The poison that will run through the blood with corrode everything. If I shall fall, then shall you." _

The entire group all just glared at the young man before they looked alarmed as the blue eyes immediately darkened, turning back to brown. Zone began choking again. His body shaking more violently on the ground. He was starting to sound like he was drowning. And they soon found out that he was. Because glowing liquid began to spill from his lips. And he soon was still.

Dr. Ryuu quickly bent over the young man, checking for his pulse. But he found none. The doctor sighed softly as he lowered his head and then closed the youth's eyes. "He's dead. Whatever it was that was using him, it killed him." He said quietly.

Cloud slowly bent down to get a better look at the glowing liquid spilling from Zone's mouth. "What is that?"

The doctor shook his head as he bent closer to get a better look. "I'm not sure. I can analyze it and find out. I may have to examine the body for anything else. I'm getting a hunch that there is more that meets to the eye." He said. Everyone slowly nodded.

"Is it me or is it when that thing was looking at each of us, there was a chill in the air?" Reno asked, shivering as if he was cold.

Everyone glanced at him but Rigal shook his head. "I don't think that was you. I felt it too. When those eyes looked at me, I thought I felt as if death has already passed over me."

"Yeah. Me too." Yuffie said.

One by one, everyone nodded. But Sephiroth shook his head as he continued to just stare down at Zone. "That something was evil. It was more evil than I could ever be. There was something behind that voice."

Yazoo nodded. "I thought I heard a voice when it looked at me. I heard someone speaking."

Cloud just looked at him. "What did you hear?"

Yazoo slowly shook his head. "It was a different dialect. But I think it might have said, you can't save her. I didn't understand what it meant." He said. Slowly, everyone nodded.  
"I'll tell you one thing. It's sure not fond of Eden at all. Didn't you hear the way that thing spoke to her?" Rigal asked. Eden just turned away when everyone looked at her. "Eden?" Dr. Ryuu asked. But she ignored him. She said nothing as she just walked away from them. No one spoke a word as they watched her walk away from them.

"What's wrong with her?" Yuffie asked. No one answered but then Vincent shook his head. "I think that voice might have spoke to her too. It might have said something to upset her." He said quietly.

No one spoke anymore about the voice after that. They only began to plan the next move. They would stay the night in Rocket Town, while Dr. Ryuu was examining Zone's body.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter XVIII:**

She sat alone on the walkway to where the old rocket used to be, just gazing out towards the ocean. She had been sitting there for most of the night, not moving very much. She was thinking about what the voice had said to her when it looked her right in the eye. She wasn't aware that there was someone watching her. Eden just stared off, thinking.

_"Only you can save the girl, Phoenix Project. Take her place. Come to us and we will let her go." _was what the voice had said.

Eden knew what the voice had meant but she still didn't understand. Take Marlene's place for what? Why did this...this Calamity want her or the girl, Marlene? There was only one way to finding out. And that was to go to whoever owned those blue eyes. The question was that she had to ask, what would she find if she did go there? She didn't think she wanted to know.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of someone climbing the ladder and she looked over to see who it was that was intruding on her.  
To her disgust, it was Rufus Shinra. She watched him climb to the top before she stood up, glaring at him. "What do you want?" She asked icily.

Rufus only glanced at her before he looked around at the view. "Wow. It's nice up here." He then looked towards the ocean, ignoring the look Eden was giving him.

The red haired warrioress waited for him to move away from the ladder before she moved towards it. Rufus turned around, catching her arm before she could reach it. Eden turned a glare onto him. "Let go of me." She said coldly. Rufus shook his head as he held her arm gently. "Hey. I just want to talk to you. Is that so much to ask of you?"

By the look on Eden's face, he knew that was a yes.

"Look, Eden. I know that you don't trust me because I'm a Shinra. I know you heard of what my Old Man did when he was still alive. And you probably heard some bad things about me too. But I swear by the Planet that I did not make that order to terminate you. I know you don't believe me, but I swear it. I don't know who did it. I'm really sure that it had been Scarlett. Ever since our visit at the lab, she had complained about you when she never even met you. She was jealous of you." Rufus said quietly.

Eden just continued to glower at him. "Why would she be jealous of me? She didn't even know me. Why would anyone want to kill me?"

Rufus looked away as he let go of her arm. "She was jealous of you because you were beautiful, Eden. And you..." He cut himself off, trying to hide the blush on his face.

Eden just stared at him. "And I what?"

There was a long silence before Rufus turned his back onto her. He went over and grabbed the railing, leaning against it to look at the horizen. He then muttered something that Eden had a hard time hearing. "What?"

The Ex-President glanced over his shoulder at her before looking off again. "I said, she was jealous because you had my attention when she never did."

That really surprised Eden at what he had said. She just stared at his back before she turned to the ladder and started to climb down. She stopped after a few steps and looked back at Rufus's back. Rufus had lowered his head, letting out a deep sigh as if he was very disappointed.

After a long minute, Eden climbed back up and slowly went over to join his side. She met his icy blue eyes before they both looked off again. A faint smile curved on her lips as she thought about what he said.

From below, Yazoo was looking up at the two, staring off. He frowned deeply before turning and starting back towards town. He hated the fact that he was letting Rufus spend time with Eden. He could feel the fires of jealousy burning inside his heart. He didn't want Eden to even start liking the strawberry blonde haired bimbo.

"You really like her, don't you?"

The silent silver haired man halted in his steps and looked over towards a tree, where he found Zack sitting on the ground. The black haired swordsman was also looking up at the two standing on the girder. There was a long silence between the two, before Zack looked into Yazoo's eyes. A faint smile on his face as he just looked into the cat like eyes. "Don't be jealous, Yazoo. She really does like you. She's just...she's just trying to understand Rufus Shinra."

Yazoo glanced back towards the rocket girder before he slowly went over and joined Zack sitting on the ground. He sat cross legged next to him, just staring up at the stars. "He better not try and hurt her." He said quietly.

Zack gave a short 'Hmph' as if that was a small laugh. "You got that right. If he hurts her in any way, he better be on the other side of the Planet or I'll skin him alive." He said with a chortle.

Yazoo cracked a smile as he glanced sideways to him. "You know..." He paused, waiting for Zack to look at him. "I've never actually felt this way about anything, anyone. I'm feeling a feeling I can't describe."

Zack cracked a smile as he rest his arm onto his knee. His dark blue eyes just looking up at the stars in the sky. "It's called love, Yazoo. You can't find that in any book, in any scientific research. The only place you can find it is in your heart."

Yazoo frowned as he thought the word over and over. "Love?" He earned a nod from Zack. "What is love? What does it mean? How do you know what love is?"

That seemed to take Zack by surprise because he was very quiet. Yazoo even glanced over at him. He could see the confusion in his eyes. He knew instantly that Zack was trying to think of the right answer for that question. "Love is...well, there's no real definition for love. It means that you have affection for someone or something. Someone you adore very much and care for is someone you love. It's when you don't want someone to get hurt and you want to protect them for always. Protect them from the wickedness of the world." The black haired warrior tried to explain.

Yazoo frowned still trying to mull things over. "Then how do you know if you love someone?"

Zack faintly smiled. "You just do, Yazoo. You just know. There's just that feeling in you. It's not an easy thing to come by."

Yazoo was quiet for a minute before he looked back at him. "Do you love someone?"

A very long silence before Zack nodded. "There's a lot of people that I love. That's the thing about love. It can mean so many different things. To be in love with a woman, to love your brother or a family member. Even to love your friends. So therefor, I love every person here." He paused for a second. "Besides Sephiroth." He laughed and Yazoo laughed with him.

"Who are you in love with?" The silver haired man then asked.

Zack breathed in deeply before closing his eyes. "No one in particular. I would have to say that if I was to be in love with someone, it would have to be Aeris."

"Why her?"

Zack just shook his head. "Because I know her very well. I have known her for a very long time. I know that Cloud had been in love with her once. But feelings change. I know he still loves her. All of Avalanche does. They were in pain when Sephiroth killed her the first time."

Another long silence. "Why did he kill her?" Yazoo asked quietly.

Zack opened his eyes, narrowing them a little. "I honestly don't know. That question you have to ask him." He told him.

Yazoo nodded before looking back up at the girder, watching Eden and Rufus exchanging words with one another. "Do you think Rufus loves Eden?" He then asked quietly.

Zack glanced upward at the Ex-Prez before shrugging. "I'm not sure. He likes her. From what I understand, he's never known love himself. I know for sure that he had never recieved love from his own father. The man was in love with money. And he never showed to Rufus that he loved him. Love to Shinra is very hard to understand. I think he's just barely learning the meaning himself, just like you. So don't be too hard on him."

Yazoo slowly nodded. "I understand." And then the two went silent for the rest of the night, just staring up at the stars.

* * *

Back in town, Dr. Ryuu was still looking over Zone's body. Rigal was standing off to the side, just watching him. He had to look away when Dr. Ryuu had cut Zone open to see what was inside. He may have been a fighter but too much blood bothered him. He hated the sight of it. Dr. Ryuu was looking at the strange liquid under a magnefying glass, his brow creasing a little as did his frown. "This is...strange. Almost extraordinary." He muttered to himself.

Rigal just watched him. "What is it, Doctor?" Dr. Ryuu looked over at him before standing up straight.

"The blood sample in our young friend, here. It's far beyond from what I've studied before. He is full of Mako. This man has had so many Mako injections that the Mako has over run his own blood. Anymore Mako and he could have turned into a monster himself." He then shook his head. "But that's not the only thing I see. Take a look." He said. Rigal nodded and did so.

What he saw as strange blue parasites among the red blood cells. Even though the cells in the blood were dead, the parasites were still moving.

Rigal quickly pulled away with alarm. "What is that?" He asked with surprise.

Dr. Ryuu shook his head as he cupped his hand over his chin. "I'm not sure, Rigal. But I believe it's the Jenova cells inside our friend. But I have never seen them like this. They may have evolved over time."

Rigal just looked at him with alarm. "Jenova cells?! But I thought that the cells were destroyed when Shinra fell."

Dr. Ryuu nodded as he went back to looking at the cells under the microscopes. "They were. But it's possible that someone had gotten their hands on the cells before it happened. The others were destroyed."

"But who, Ryuu? Who could do this? Who could inject Zone with them?"

The doctor shook his head. "Only Shinra scientists could work with these. We had the knowledge of Mako injections. There's a certain way to inject Mako into you. You can't just take Mako and inject you with it. It would kill you if you do it so clumbsily." He sighed pulling away from the microscope again. "But there is the problem. I'm the only Shinra scientist left. Or atleast I believe so."

Rigal shook his head. "There must be another then. Who had access to Jenova cells?"

Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "Not many people. Professor Gast had been one. But he was killed a long time ago. I was there when he died. And the other was my brother, Professor Hojo. But he's dead too. Cloud told me that." He said. Rigal frowned as he tried to think. "But there has to be someone else. Who could have created the new monsters and done this to these men?"

Again the doctor shook his head, a frown of concern on his face. "No one." He then paused, looking Rigal right in the eye. "Do you remember when Zone mentioned those monsters, the Manticores?"

Rigal nodded. "Yeah. You say their name as if you know what they are."

"That's because I do. I have seen the very first manticore ever made. I remember the day I saw it come to life. They are such horrible and blood thirsty creatures. The most violent of all monsters. No doubt about that." Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "I could not sleep for a week from my first encounter with the Manticore."

"Where did you first see it?" asked Rigal.

"In the Midgar labs. It had been one of Professor Hojo's creations. Only he could create such monsters. It's possible during the Weapons attacks they escaped. But where have they been for so many years?"

Rigal continued to frown. "Ryuu, didn't you just say that there had been at least one created?"

Dr. Ryuu nodded. "Yes and no. In deed there had only been one but Hojo had cloned it so he could breed the creatures. That was another thing he was good at. The cloning process was entirely difficult." He said. Rigal looked surprised though. "Doctor! What if someone is cloning monsters right now?! Maybe that's why there's an increase of monsters!"

A look of surprise was on Dr. Ryuu's face. "Oh lord! That is a thought, Rigal. That could be the reason. But..." He frowned again. "Hojo was the only one who could do it."

"But what if he taught someone to do it? There's no way he could live forever and surely he wanted his work to live on. Was there anyone that he was close to? Anyone he admired that he could have taught?" Rigal asked.

Dr. Ryuu now looked very tired. "Not that I know of. But he could have taken on an apprentice." He sighed. "I can't keep thinking about this, Rigal. Right now, I have to worry about what's in front of us right now."

Rigal nodded. "Maybe you should rest for the night. You've lost a lot of sleep over the days." He said. Dr. Ryuu shook his head. "I can't, Rigal. I can't even close my eyes until this whole mystery is over and done with. You may go rest." He said. Rigal rubbed his eyes, noting how tired he was feeling but he shook his head. "I'll stay here with you. I can't sleep now." He said. Dr. Ryuu nodded as he went back to examining Zone.

* * *

Marlene was following behind Drake DuCaine, feeling extremely tired. She could hardly walk anymore. They had been travelling well into the night. The cruel man kept saying that they were getting close to their destination. The young girl had managed to look around and note the area. They were in some kind of mountain, though Drake DuCaine hadn't actually told her what mountains. She was terribly hungry and very weak. She had hardly eaten a thing since the day she had been taken and the cruel man, Drake DuCaine kept refusing to take her into town to get food. He wanted to get the brat off his hands quickly so he could go and hunt down Cloud and Zack. He wanted them dead.

Finally, Marlene couldn't go on. She tripped over a rock and fell to the ground, scraping her knee terribly. She gasped in pain, lying down in the dirt and cried. Drake DuCaine turned around and looked down at her before he growled.

With a disgusted sigh, he walked over to her and glared down into her brown eyes. "Get up! We still walk on!" He barked.

Marlene sobbed as she tried to do what she was told but she fell back to the ground, feeling very weak. She heard the man growl again befor crying out in pain as he roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. Unfortunately her knees gave out again. She sobbed even harder. "I can't! I'm too tired! I can't walk anymore!" She cried.

Drake growled again as he released her and slashed a tree. "Get up!" He yelled at her. Marlene flinched but shook her head. "I can't." She whimpered.

With another growl, Drake cupped his hand over his goatee and looked around. He was trying to think of what to do. Maybe he should set up camp and rest for the night. But he was so close to his destination. They were only a few miles away from it. Drake glanced back down at the crying girl before he sighed and bent down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and lift her up into his arms. "Fine! I'll carry you! You better be what the employer expects for how troublesome you've been to me!"

Marlene sobbed even harder but she curled up closer to him, laying her head on his chest.

As Drake walked, he glanced down at the already slumbering child in his arms. His face softening a little as he looked from the dirt trails on her cheeks from the tears.  
When had it been since he last held a child like this?  
He couldn't recall it. For some reason, he was starting to feel something else than the hatred that he had been carrying for so many years. Was it pity he was feeling? He couldn't tell. He had never felt pity for such a long time. In fact, he had never felt pity.  
He recalled his old memories, before he had become Drake DuCaine the Dark Fighter. He remembered how he used to be a kind and caring man. How he used to tease Cloud Strife about his motion sickness. He really never had meant to be mean. He just thought it was so funny how Cloud couldn't stand to be in trucks when that's all they used to ride around in.

Drake glanced around when he broke through the woody area. He then stopped when he saw the pond and the small waterfall. They were close now. Very close. If they passed through the waterfall's secret entrance, they would have arrived. The dark warrior glanced back down at the young girl, noting her injuries she had recieved from his rough treatment with her. He frowned.

'The employer wouldn't be happy to see her in such a state. And she's a little thin too.' He thought to himself. He let a single strand of his hair fall over his eyes before he took a deep breath. This was where he would stop.

Drake slowly walked over to a grassy area near the lake and gently placed Marlene down on the bed of grass, his eyes looking her over again. He frowned as looked at the blood on her knee. She had scraped her knee a lot worst than he thought. He had not noticed it before. That was probably because he was so impatient in getting rid of her.

He looked down at the red scarf under his multiple belts before grabbing it and ripping a fraction off. He turned towards the water and wetted it.

After it was completely soaked, he lift it out of the water and squeeze half of the water out. He then turned back to Marlene and began to clean the blood off her knee. He glanced at her small round face when she whimpered in her sleep. He just stared at her before he gently pushed her bangs off her forehead, studying her face. He couldn't help but admire this little one. He knew that when she was older, she was probably going to be a knock out. There was going to be a lot of young men who would admire her. That is, if she lived long enough.

Drake frowned even deeper at the thought. 'Do I really want to take her to the employer?' He thought to himself.

A deep scowl appeared on his face as his dark side kicked in. "Of course you do, Drake! The employer is paying you a lot of money for it." He snapped at himself in a low voice.

Drake tilted his head the other way before returning to cleaning the scraped knee. "Shut up, you. I want to enjoy the peace while it's lasting." He said harshly to himself.

The dark side snapped right back at him. "You are getting too soft, Drake! You are letting this little brat change you."

"Be quiet yourself! I am not getting soft! I just don't want to wake her. She's annoying when she's awake." He snapped at himself. His dark side didn't reply. It knew that it was true.

Drake looked back down at Marlene, when she started to stir. He found that he was holding his breath but then he let it out when she didn't wake up. He frowned and went back to cleaning her knee before he rinsed out the scarf and wetted it again. He turned and began to wipe the dirt off Marlene's face. Once he finished, he tossed the scrap of fabric away and sat there right next to her, looking at the water's edge. He listened to the pounding of the water fall and enjoyed the wind blowing at his skin. He then glanced back at Marlene, to see if she had woke up yet. She hadn't.

"She won't wake up tonight. She'll be asleep until dawn." He whispered.

He then pulled off his leather armor, tossing it to the side and then his boots. After those, he began pulling off his series of belts, tossing them onto his boots and armor, along with his swords. He was just down to his pants.

With another glance at Marlene, he slipped his feet into the water and stepped into the lake. It was about time he took a bath anyway. And he was not going to strip down to his birthday suit just in case she did wake up.

He went into the lake, waist deep before glancing back at her to see if she was awake yet. When he saw that she was still asleep, he grunted in satisfaction and went deeper into the water until he was chest deep. He faced the girl, checking on her again before going under the water.

It was only at that moment did Marlene gasp in her sleep from the nightmare she had been having. She sat up quickly, looking around to see if she could see the monster she had seen in her dreams before relaxing. The monster had not been real. She then looked towards the water, a look of confusion on her face.

"Huh? Where am I?"

She glanced down at the armor beside her before turning her gaze back onto the lake. It was at that second she saw her captor merge from the under the water and he began doing back strokes. He never even noticed that she was awake. Marlene glanced around, taking in the view. It sure was beautiful in this area. She looked back at Drake in the water. His back was too her as he cupped water and splashed it into his face. It would be so easy to escape now. He was so far out in the water and he couldn't possibly be a fast swimmer. She could just run for it now and not ever be noticed until he was out of the water again.

She sat up and made the attempt to stand, but when she looked back at Drake again, she stopped with a look on her face.

Ever since she had been taken by this horrible man, he had always had the look on his face, as if he hated everything. As if he wanted to destroy everything around him. But right now, he looked so peaceful. He seemed to enjoy the water around him.

Marlene frowned. 'He's only enjoying it because he thinks I'm asleep. If he saw that I was awake, he would be mean again.' She thought bitterly to herself.

She decided it was time to run.

She waited for Drake to slip back under the water again before she stood up and started to creep towards the woods. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see if Drake had noticed yet. He was still swimming around. Marlene could have started running now but she stopped when she heard a growling noise. She gasped and looked ahead to see something standing before her. She immediately felt the fear over welm her.

It was a monster she remembered to be called a Behemoth. She remembered how her papa had told her it loved the taste of flesh. And it's black eyes were on her. Strings of saliva were dripping from it's fangs now.

Marlene shivered as she curled up a little, starting to step back from it. It snarled at her, starting to step closer. She whimpered. She decided that she would rather stay with Drake instead of becoming food to this creature. So she quickly turned around and rushed back towards the lake's edge.

It was unfortunate that Drake was under water again so he hadn't heard the snarl of the monster.

Marlene gasped again when she heard the monster snarl and start charging. She gasped again when she felt it shove her from behind. She fell to the ground by the water. Her wide brown eyes looked up at the monster, snarling over her. She could feel the saliva dripping onto her face as it started to lower its head to chomp on her. She could not hold in the scream any longer. She shrieked in fear as the monster started towards her.

At that very second, Drake leaped out of the water, snatching up his double swords and slashed the monster across the face with both of them, creating an X across it's face. The monster roared in pain and staggered back, wiping its head across the ground.

Drake had heard the second second snarl while under water and it had made him come up to see what was going on. He had come up just as the monster had knocked the girl down and was starting to attack her. He moved a lot faster than he usually did. He jumped right out of the water and scooped up Death and Darkon before slashing the monster.

The Behemoth roared and backed away quickly. Drake immediately followed, spinning in circles and slashing it. Blood was flying every where. The monster snarled at him, before whipping its sharp claws at him. It had caught him across the chest but he ignored it. He just jumped high into the air, landing on its back and then stabbing both swords into the monster's neck. The monster roared again and tried to throw him off. It failed. Drake shoved his swords in deeper until they reached its neck bones and then he threw the blades sidewards, slicing through its flesh. The Behemoth fell to the ground, deader than a door nail. Drake jumped off its back, landing gracefully on his feet.

But that was before the pain kicked in. He winced from the gash in his chest, going down to his knee. He dropped his swords, using both hands to keep himself up. He didn't have his materia on him so he couldn't cure himself right away. They were on his belts.

Drake heaved a deep breath, trying his hardest to get to his feet but the pain in his chest wouldn't let him. He hyperventlated as he forced himself to look at the girl to see if she was hurt.

Marlene was looking at him with wide eyes. She couldn't believe he had defeated that horrible monster so quickly. She gasped when she saw his blood running down his chest. She could see how deep the wound was.

It would be so much easier to just escape now, while he was too hurt to go after her. Marlene quickly stood up and started to hurry away but stopped when she heard him bark an order for her to stop. She turned back to look at him. Drake was trying to get to his feet, so he could chase after her, but he again fell to his knee. His eyes tightly closed from the pain. He clapped a hand over the claw marks, now attempting to crawl over to where his materia was. But he hissed in pain again.

Marlene turned back to run but stopped again. Her soft heart was begging for her to help him, even though her brain was telling her to just run. She could get away now. This was her chance. But it was her heart that was stopping her. She turned back to look at Drake, who was on his side, holding himself up with his arm. His hand still over his wound.

With a sigh, Marlene lowered her head and rushed back over to his belts. "Where are they?" She asked.

Drake's eyes snapped open and he looked at her in surprise. He frowned as he watched her looking at the materia on his belts. He squinted his eyes in confusion at her. The little girl then turned her brown eyes back onto him. "Which ones?"

The dark warrior only stared at her blankly. He was still trying to figure out what she was talking about. Marlene rolled her eyes as she grabbed the belt with the materia and rushed over to Drake, holding it out to him. Drake's eyes squinted at her before he reached out and grabbed the belt. He just watched her as she bent down beside him, watching his belt now.

'What in the hell?' He thought before he turned his eyes onto the materia and grabbed the Cure materia.

He glanced back at Marlene, who was still watching. She wasn't even trying to run away again. She just sat there, watching him. Her brown eyes looked back into his dark green ones. Drake frowned again before he began to heal himself. The gashes closed up instantly and he looked back at her. Marlene had stood up and started walking. He was about to jump up and stop her but realized that she was walking back to the grassy bed and sitting back down. He watched her for a long time, just staring at her back. She wasn't even trying to run away again. She just wrapped her arms around her legs and stared at the moon on the water.

Silently, Drake forced himself to his feet and he walked over to behind her. His eyes just looking at her. Marlene didn't look up. She just stared with tears in her eyes. She eventually glanced up at him but didn't say anything.

"Why did you help me?" He asked quietly, throwing his belt to the side with the others.

Marlene slowly shook her head as she just stared. "Because Papa told me that I should always help someone when they need it. Even if they're bad." She said almost in a whisper.

Drake just stared at her before he walked to the water and began to wash off the blood. He glanced sidewards at the girl, who laid back down and rolled onto her side. Her back to him. She was crying again but softly. He could barely hear her sobs. The dark warrior just watched her as he put his belts back on and then his armor. He even watched her as he went over and fetched his swords. As soon as he had then, he just stared at her, listening to her.

Finally he walked back over and sat down beside her, his eyes on her. Marlene glanced over her shoulder at him before looking back in the darkness. It was then did her stomach growl. She tried to cover her middle to make it stop. She didn't want him to get angry at her for being hungry.

Wordlessly, Drake grabbed his bag and pulled out some bread. He tapped Marlene's shoulder, making her turn around again. "Here." He said quietly. The little girl only looked at him, as if asking if he was serious. He didn't answer. So she grabbed the bread and began wolfing it down. "Careful. Don't eat so fast or you will choke." Drake said, watching her.

Marlene nodded and she slowed down. She then took the canteen he offered to her. Drake didn't understand why he was suddenly being nice to her. He had expected that his dark side to kick in and began bullying her again but it didn't. He couldn't feel it at all. Marlene ate the bread and water, still staring out at the water. Tears were now filling her eyes and she began to sob again. She broke down, half way finishing the bread. She covered her eyes with her hands. "Papa." She cried softly.

Drake just watched her before he felt the sudden urge to put his arm around her shoulders. He tried to fight the urge but his body didn't respond. So he allowed his arm to go around her and she collapsed against him, wrapping her arms around his chest. He was surprised that she hadn't just pulled away. But then his face softened as she cried against him.

"I miss my papa! I want to go home! Please take me home!"

Drake just watched her before looking back out at the water. "I can't." He whispered. He held her for the rest of the night when she fell asleep. He just held her, while his mind was running with thoughts. Maybe he was softening. This girl was changing him. And he didn't like it.


	20. Chapter 19

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As soon as the morning dawned, everyone was ready to leave. They had rested well into the night, except a few others. Dr. Ryuu being one and Vincent being the other. The Ex-Turk had stayed up all night, thinking about everything. He couldn't sleep after what the blue eyed thing in Zone had said.

"Is everyone ready?" Cloud asked as he looked around at the others. Everyone nodded but Dr. Ryuu shook his head.

"I'm not going with you this time. I have to stay here."

Everyone looked at him with surprise. Eden looked the most surprised. "What?" She asked. Dr. Ryuu sighed as he looked around. "I would only slow you down. Besides, I have more research to do. I'm not entirely done with everything here. But you must continue the search. I will contact you if I find anything out." He said. No one spoke but then they all nodded as they looked at one another.

"All right, doctor. You stay here. I think it'd probably be best if we split into three groups anyway. One by air, one by land and one stay here with the doctor." Cloud said.

Yuffie immediately rose a hand. "I choose the land group then!" She quickly called out. Everyone sniggered, knowing that it was her motion sickness that was holding her back from getting back on the airship.

Cid shrugged. "Well, I have to be in the air. Only I can run my baby."

Everyone nodded in an agreement. Cloud then began forming the groups. The group that would be staying with Dr. Ryuu contained Rigal, Reeve, Rude, Kadaj, Aeris and of course Denzel, who had really put up a fight about that. But Tifa put her foot down. She did not want Denzel to be with them if there was going to be danger. The young boy had no choice but to listen.

The group that would stay on the airship with Cid was Barret, Sephiroth (much to Barret's disgust) Loz, Red XIII, Reno and Zack.

So that left Tifa, Vincent, Eden, Yuffie, Yazoo and Rufus with Cloud.

Everyone stood with their groups, looking at the others and quietly wishing them luck. The land group would go by the buggy, which had been in Rocket Town the entire time and Chocobos. "Ya guys be careful now. You call us if you ever need help, got that?" Cid asked as he stuck a toothpick into his mouth.

Cloud only nodded as he mounted his chocobo. "Don't worry, Cid. We'll be fine. Just look after yourself and the others." He looked at the others that would be staying in Rocket Town. "You too. Take care of each other and make sure nothing happens to Denzel."

Reeve nodded as he gently placed his hand on Denzel's shoulder. "He'll be fine with us." He glanced over at Kadaj. "I just hope that we don't have to worry about him." He said. Cloud looked over at Kadaj, who lift his head higher. "Don't worry. I'm on your side now. The only ones we have to be worrying about is DuCaine and his boss." he told them with a nod.

Cloud blew out a sigh and nodded. "He's right, Reeve. I'm getting the feeling that he's not a threat anymore. Not to us anyway." He said. Reeve nodded as he glanced back at Kadaj. "I hope you're right, Cloud."

"I hope I'm right too." The blonde said before he looked at the doctor. "Dr. Ryuu, if you find anything..."

Dr. Ryuu nodded. "Don't worry. If I find anything, I will contact you immediately. I will even contact you every night to report to you." He said. Cloud nodded. "That might help. It would let us know that you're all right too."

Then he turned to the others, that were climbing on their chocobos. Eden, however, did not even go near the chocobo she was suppose to ride. She was eyeing the giant bird with suspicion. Cloud nodded to her. "Come on, Eden. Mount your chocobo so we can go."

Eden gave him a look before shaking her head. "I can't ride a chocobo, Cloud." She told him.

Now everyone was looking at her with curiousity. Dr. Ryuu seemed to catch on though. He slowly nodded but didn't say anything. "Why not? Why can't you ride a chocobo?" Yuffie asked as she mounted her's with ease. Eden shook her head as she stepped back away from the bird that looked at her.

"She's never learned how to ride one." Dr. Ryuu explained.

Eden looked a little embarrassed as if a deep, dark secret had just been revealed. She had to look away, just waiting for everyone to laugh. Of course, some did chuckle but Cloud shook his head as he dismounted his own and walked over to Eden. "Okay. Here. Let me show you how to mount the chocobo then. We can pull it by the reins." He told her.

Eden shook his head. "Really I can't ride a chocobo. I've never ridden one."

"That's why I'm going to teach you." Cloud said a little impatiently.

Zack then winced. "Oh, Cloud. I don't think that'd be a good idea." He said. Cloud looked at his friend. "Why not?" He asked. Zack shook his head. "Now that I remember it, when I first met Eden, we were going to travel by Chocobos. But we had to change our plans because it was her first time trying to ride a chocobo. She kind of pulled out a feather by accident and you know how chocobos are."

Everyone winced as they thought about it. "It struck ya, huh?" Cid rubbed his shoulder. "I remember my first time. I still have the scar from it."

Eden looked away with a deep scowl on her face. "Okay, so I'm a little scared of the damn birds, so what? If anyone cracks a joke about it, I'll make you sorry."

Cloud shook his head as he rubbed his head. "Oh man. This is going to be a little tough. Okay, you're just going to have to ride with someone then."

Rufus's attention perked up and he nodded. "She can ride with me. My chocobo's strong enough for two."

Everyone rolled their eyes while Yazoo glared at the Ex-President from the corner of his eye. Cloud sighed as he looked at Eden. "Do you want to ride with him?" He asked. Eden pulled a face. "Not really. Even though we're getting along better, I still don't trust him."

Rufus scowled and Yazoo smirked.

"Then she can ride with me." Vincent spoke up as he rode over to their side and held out a hand towards Eden.

Eden seemed to like this idea better and so she took Vincent's out stretched hand. She had caught sight of the looks on both Rufus and Yazoo's faces and she smirked to herself.

The Ex-Turk silently pulled her up onto his black chocobo, sitting her right in front of him. No one seemed to know why Vincent was being so forward but they all knew that he didn't like her as Rufus and Yazoo did. Maybe it was because she was a little like him. She was suffereing from having to share a body with a demon.

Cloud nodded as he went back over to his chocobo and climbed on. He glanced around at everyone before nodding. "Let's head out. We'll search this continent. You guys head back towards the other one and search around there. Check the snowy continent too. We can't leave any place unlooked."

Everyone nodded and they were soon out on their search.

Eden was thinking to herself as she rode with Vincent. The silent mystical man had his arms around her while directing the reins. He didn't seem bothered with her being close to him either. He just searched the horizen for anything, his eyes eventually glancing down at her a few times before he looked back towards the horizen. "You want to learn how to ride?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Eden looked up at him from searching the horizen, a confused look on her face. "Hm?" She then frowned. "I'm not too fond of Chocobos. Not after getting slashed by the first one I tried riding."

Vincent just looked down into her lavendar colored eyes. "The chocobos are one of the most safest ways of travelling. Travelling on a chocobo is better than walking. It's much quicker and safer." He could still see a confused look on Eden's face, so he shook his head, looking away. "If a monster were attack you while on a Chocobo, your mount would protect you. They wouldn't let a monster get close to you at all. They're very noble creatures. That's why people can ride them so often."

Eden looked away from him, her thoughts roaming in her mind. That is until she felt Vincent take her hands in one hand and then placed the reins in them. She immediately stiffened as soon as she had the reins.

The chocobo seemed to sense that it had a new driver because it immediately slowed down, coming to a halt. Everyone else slowed to a halt and looked at the two curiously.

"Vincent, what's going on?" Cloud asked.

Vincent shook his head before waving for them to go on. "We'll catch up. Keep on going." he told him. Everyone just stared before they started going again. Rufus and Yazoo had both paused to watch them before they noticed the look Vincent was giving them. It was a look to say if they didn't keep going, they would get shot. So they decided to follow after Cloud and the others.

"Vincent, I can't do this." Eden said, sounding very uneasy.

The Ex-Turk just placed his hand on her arms from behind her. "Don't worry. I'll help you. Just relax. If you are tensed up, the Chocobo will be tense. Just trust the bird." he spoke in a low voice.

Eden took a deep breath and tried to relax. It seemed to work because the Chocobo relaxed as well. It just turned its head and looked right at her, almost asking her where it was to go. Eden stared into those ebony eyes of the black chocobo before she faintly smiled. A strange feeling began to pass between her and the giant bird. A feeling she had never felt before. She felt trust wash over her and the chocobo instantly. She then nodded to follow after the others. With only a small wark, the chocobo ran after the others. Eden just smiled as she gently gave the reins a small pull to the right and the Chocobo began roaming to the right. Then she tried the left. The chocobo obeyed. She was riding the Chocobo.

After catching up to the others, she handed the reins back to Vincent, giving him a thankful smile. He just returned the gesture with a nod and then went back to concentrating onto the horizen.

The others had been watching of course. All of them smiled and shook their heads. They had realized what Vincent had been doing and they really admired him for it, when they knew he didn't like putting himself out in the open like that. It was just that something about Eden that made him do it. They all knew that there was just something about her. They all could feel it. It was either Phoenix inside her that interested them, or it was Eden's past. They all wanted to know what it was like for her. They all just wanted to know her. Curiousity never really sat too well with the group of Avalanche.

Finally they stopped near the beach outside the Cosmos Canyon and set up camp there. Everyone sat around the fire in silence, just staring at the flames or eating provisions. Eden was sitting off on her own, staring at the ocean.

Tifa eventually decided to sit with her, to see if she could get her to talk. So she went over and sat down from across the young warrioress. Eden only glanced at her but then looked back at the water. They were quiet for a while before Tifa smiled and closed her eyes as she let the breeze blow against her breeze. "I've always loved the ocean. It smells so good and there is always breeze." The martial artist said as she folded her arms over her knees. Eden didn't say anything. She just stared off. Tifa then turned back to Eden. "So, Eden. Is something bothering you?"

Eden finally looked at her, looking the woman over before tilting her head to the side. "Why do you ask?"

Tifa frowned. "Well...I know you're really quiet and distant from everyone, and you probably have a good reason but you seem to be more quieter than you usually are. I can just tell that something is bothering you. I'm good with reading people." She then glanced off towards Vincent before looking back at Eden.  
"Believe it or not, but I'm the only one in the group that can read Vincent and he's really hard to read. He's quiet and distant from everyone because he's afraid that if he ever got close to us, something bad would happen to us. He's just doing it to protect us. So many things have happened to him. He was a Turk for Shinra and they betrayed him in so many ways. All thanks to Professor Hojo. He was so in love with a woman and Shinra took that away. They killed her by using experiments on her. And when Vincent confronted the man that had done it to her, he was practically killed. Hojo shot him and then altered his body. He did the very same thing that he did to you. Vincent was the first to go through that kind of proceedure, Eden. And I guess after so many years from that, Hojo decided to do it to you too."

Eden still didn't say anything. She just listened to Tifa's story while taking everything into thought.

"Vincent is like you in so many ways. It's like...it's like you could be family. He could be like a father or an uncle to you. Maybe even a brother. And we want to get to know you too, Eden. We want to know who the little girl was before the Phoenix Project." Tifa told her.

Again, Eden was quiet for a minute before she looked away. Tifa tilted her head, looking a little saddened that Eden was ignoring her. She blew out a sigh. "Give yourself time." She said softly and started to rise.

But Eden quickly looked up at her. "Wait."

And Tifa waited. She just looked down at her before she slowly sat back down. The young warrioress lowered her head as she sighed. "My life has always been difficult. Even before Sephiroth took me away. I remember it now." Eden paused as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the necklace. "My mother wore this, before she was killed." She held it out to Tifa, who took it and opened the amulate. She looked surprise to see Eden as a little girl. She looked back at Eden.

"Your hair...it was black?"

Eden nodded. "Yeah. Eden Black. That's what the scientists called me. My name was always Eden. It had been my father who named me. I don't remember my last name though. I was too young to think about things like that." She began to knead her temples with her palms. "I wish I could remember. My life on Wutai was very peace. It was my place of eden. But it was also hard. None of the other children liked me for some reason. I think...I think it was because of my father. He had believed that peace with Shinra could happen. During the meetings with the Elders and Lord Godo of the Village, I suppose he's Yuffie's father, he always said that we should try to make peace with them. I guess he was right. Because when we didn't, Shinra came and brought hatred with them. They killed all of my people. I was the only one that survived. But that was because Sephiroth couldn't see me killed. But why?"

Tifa tilted her head and was quiet for a minute before she reached over and gently took Eden's hand, making her look at her. The martial artist only smiled gently at her. "Maybe he couldn't because he knew that you were special. He could see the beauty that's inside you and not just out." She said softly.

"Maybe. But..." Eden looked away for a minute before she looked back at her. "I don't think that was the answer. He probably doesn't realize it, but I think it was Jenova telling him not to kill me."

That surprised Tifa. She had held Eden's hand for a minute before she let go and folded her arms over her knees. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. I think it's because of that thing that was inside Zone. I think it was Jenova. But I'm not sure."

That really surprised Tifa. But before she could say anything, Eden shook her head. "Tifa, the woman, she talked to me, just like did with Yazoo. She said something to me and that's what is bothering me." Eden said in a low voice.

Tifa just stared at her before she tilted her head to the side. "What did she say to you, Eden?" She asked softly.

Eden closed her eyes as she turned her face away. It was like she was trying to remember but then she reopened her eyes. "She's willing to let Marlene go if I took her place. I was suppose to be the one that Drake took. Not Marlene. But he couldn't find me. So he had to use a substitute. He must have known about you and the kids at Midgar all along and that's what really took him there. I think Marlene is to become the next Jenova, Tifa. And there's only way of stopping that." She looked back at her. "I have to take her place."

"No. You can't do that. She'd kill you." Tifa said with worry.

Eden sighed as she lowered her head. "Better me than a little girl who is about to live the same life that I did."

There was a long silence between them. Tifa then gently took Eden's hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I won't let you give yourself up, Eden. We can fight this...this monster together. All of us. We've fought Jenova before, if it is her. We destroyed her before and we can do it again." She said softly.

Eden looked at her, her lips starting to curve into a smile. But she held it back as she just looked at Tifa with confusion. "Why do you care about me, Tifa? Why does everyone care? You don't even know me."

Tifa just smiled at her. "Because we care about everyone. We are Avalanche and we protect people from the wickedness. You have been thrown into a life that you didn't want. And that's how we all we got involved. Barret lost everything because of Shinra. His people had been destroyed and his town, just like you. But he gained one thing. And that Marlene. He took her in when she needed a home, a family. Cloud and I, we lost everything too. Because of Sephiroth. Not just Shinra. But it was Sephiroth who destroyed everything we knew. My father was murdered by him. Cloud's mother burned to death in the fires that Sephiroth created. Cloud and I were the only ones to survive that. Yuffie lost her pride when the war was set on by Shinra. Cid lost his wings to fly. He had wanted so much to go to out space." Tifa then smiled. "But you want to know something? Because he stuck with us from the beginning, he got to. We went to space to destroy Meteor, sending his precious space rocket to meet its doom. His dream came true because of us. Because of what we were doing."

Eden looked over towards the camp, now looking at Rufus as he spoke in a low voice with Cloud. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him. "Shinra...he's the cause of this. I just don't see why you are travelling with him when he brought this onto the Planet."

Tifa shook her head. "Rufus Shinra was a pawn in his father's chess game, Eden. He didn't know that his father had been using him too. Sure, he started his own game when his father was murdered by Sephiroth but he made a mistake. He was very young and he had spent his whole life being scared of his old man."

Eden looked at her with confusion. But Tifa shook her head. "Why don't you ask him what his life was like, living under his father's thumb? You'll be very surprised on what he'll tell you. Believe me. He told me what it was like when I asked." She told Eden, then she smiled. "Come on. Let's go sit back down with the others."

Eden smiled back and nodded. The two of them rose and went over to the camp fire. Everyone else just looked up at them before nodding their greetings. "Hey. What were you two talking about over there?" Cloud asked as he handed Eden a bowl of stew that Tifa had made earlier.

The two glanced at one another before they both shook their heads. "Nothing really important. It was girl talk, Cloud." Tifa said.

Yuffie then grinned. "Girl talk! Why didn't you ask me to join you then?" She squealed. Eden rolled her eyes. "It was just a talk between me and Tifa. But that doesn't matter. I think I know that evil thing was that was using Zone." She said. Everyone looked interested. And so she told them.


	21. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews everyone. Sorry it took me a little while to get this chapter up. Been a nit bit busy lately. Anyway, I'm not going to do any shout outs today due to my busy schedule but I will tell you just one thing about this chapter...okay, maybe two.  
In this chapter, you learn just a little bit more about Drake and his past. You'll find out how he met Cloud, Zack and Sephiroth and how he was in the past.  
You will also find out exactly who the "Blue Lady" is and some of you, maybe all, may not be surprised, unfortunately. Though I was hoping that you would. **

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**Chapter 20**

No one had said a word for the rest of the night, letting everything that Eden had told them sink into their minds. Eventually some of them fell as sleep but some stayed awake to think. Cloud was definitely one of the ones that stayed away, along with Vincent and Yazoo. They had sat in silence, just pondering to theirselves. The blonde eventually glanced over at the sleeping Eden. He was thinking about what he had learned about her from Rufus. It made his heart go out to that girl, just to think that she had lost everything as a child. He, like, the others knew that there was something about her. She was definitely a one of a kind girl. Very much like Aeris. A sigh escaped Cloud as he turned his eyes back towards the ocean. He really hoped that Marlene was okay. He had never been so worried before about anyone. It was probably because everyone he had been worried about before could have taken care of theirselves. But Marlene couldn't. She was a little girl. A little girl in the hands of a monster.

Cloud closed his eyes as he thought about Drake. He remembered the day he had first met Drake. The man hadn't been to cruel before. He just liked to tease people now and then. Cloud let the memory come forth.

**_Flash Back_**

Cloud had been 14 at the time when he started Soldier. He remembered how nervous he had been for his first practice mission. He felt like he was going to throw up and eventually someone had noticed. He remembered it had been the first time he met Zack too. It was the first time he ever spoke to him as well.

"Hey, there. You all right?"

The young teen looked up into the face of one of the Soldiers that he would be working with. Zack, he remembered the name. Cloud just forced himself to nod but the black haired young man seemed to guess as much. He just forced a smile and patted the teen's shoulder. "Nervous, huh?" A nod from Cloud. "Ah, don't worry. You'll do fine. I know you will. By the way, the name's Zack." He said offering his hand.

Cloud forced a smile himself, feeling just a little better now. "Hi. Cloud Strife."

Zack grinned. "Nice to meet you, Cloud. So, you want to be in SOLDIER, huh?" Cloud nodded. "Well, hang in there. You'll make it."

"Thanks, Zack. Are you...are you trying for SOLDIER too?" Cloud asked as he glanced around at all of the other men around him.

Zack shook his head as he placed his hands on his waist. "Nope. I'm already in SOLDIER. I'm Second Class right now. I'm just trying to get First Class, ya know what I mean?" He nearly laughed seeing the astonished look on Cloud's face. "Heh, heh. You didn't think that I was in SOLDIER yet did ya? I know I look a little young, and I am. But still, anyone can be in SOLDIER. You just work really hard for it."

Cloud smiled before he noticed someone else sitting by theirself, cleaning two swords on his lap. Two very lethal looking swords. "Hey, who's that?"

Zack only looked over before frowning. "Hm. I can't remember his name. He's been in the program for quite a while. He's about my age. Maybe a little older." he then grinned at Cloud. "Hey, let's go say hi." He said tapping Cloud's shoulder. Cloud only nodded and they both walked over to the young man sitting in the corner.

The young man was quite a handsome young fellow. He must have at least been 18 years old. He had short black hair, with long bangs hanging over his eyes, which Cloud and Zack really couldn't see them under the hair. He was wearing a uniform just like Cloud's, so it was no doubt he was just a Soldier like him too. He was built just like Zack though, yet a little ganglier than him.

"Hey there! How's it going?" Zack said cheerfully as they walked up to the young man.

They were met by the most striking green eyes they had ever seen, other than General Sephiroth's. It made Cloud step back a little but then he relaxed seeing the kind smile on the young man's face as he handled his swords.

"Hi." He answered. He sure had a kind tone to his voice.

Zack grinned as he held out his hand to the young man. "The name's Zack. This is Cloud. What's your name?" He asked in a cheerful way.

The man only smiled as he put one of his swords down and took Zack's hand and then Cloud's. "The name's DuCaine. Drake DuCaine. Nice to meet you two." He said. Cloud nodded. This guy didn't seem too bad. At least at first.

"Nice swords you got there. So, you're a double swordsman, huh?" Zack asked admiring the swords.

The smirk on Drake's face was what made Cloud think twice about knowing this guy. "Heh, I'm not a bragger or anything, but I'm the best double swordsman you might ever find." He held up the first sword to show to Zack and Cloud. "This is Darkon." Then he held up the the other. "And this is Death."

Zack only chortled. "You name them?"

Drake crinkled his nose with a sardastic grin. "I know it sounds really stupid. But I believe that every weapon has a secret name other than the brand name they come with. But when I recieved my swords, the very first time I touched them, I knew their names. The name Darkon is a Wutain name. It's the name of the God of Darkness. And Death, well...that's what it brings when it tastes blood from the enemy."

Cloud tilted his head to the side, placing his fist on his waist. "That sounds a little gloomy to me. Why would you give them such dark names like that?"

When Drake turned his eyes onto Cloud, it made a shiver run up the blonde's spine. "That's just how I am. I don't care what people think of me or my blades. But if they were smart, they wouldn't ever insult my blades. It might be the last thing they do." And he was serious about it. Cloud found out when another Soldier had insulted Drake. After the practice mission. He would never forget it.

Cloud was staring off towards the foul look on Drake's face as soon as they returned from the mission. It hadn't gone as well as they all had hoped. The Soldier cadets had been ordered to protect a Mako Reactor, which wasn't really a reactor. It was just practice. Unfortunately, they failed to do it and Drake had been blamed. It was because he was not a good shot with a gun. He aimed the gun and ended up shooting someone's foot. It just had to be, unfortunately, Sephiroth's foot. No one had ever seen the General so mad before. Even Zack hadn't ever seen him so mad. He had admitted to Cloud that he hadn't actually spoken with him before, but he had never seen him so angry. Drake had recieved the worst lecture that no one had ever had. He had already been promised that he would never join SOLDIER and he was made a third class Soldier though.

"Hey, Cloud." Cloud heard Zack say. He didn't look at him though. He just stared at Drake, who was glaring off in the horizen as they all took a break.

"I have never seen someone get treated like that before, Zack. How can he take it like that?"

Zack sighed as he shook his head. "Sometimes you just have to take what's dished out to ya. Even if it's like what you just heard. Drake's a tough guy. Don't worry about him."

"Is he ever going to make SOLDIER? Even after what happened today?" Cloud asked as he looked up at Zack with worry.

Again, Zack sighed. "You can't really tell. Sometimes when you get on the bad side of Sephiroth while being a cadet, you'll never make it. If Sephman says that Drake's not going to make SOLDIER, then he's not. Not unless he get back on his good side. And that's really hard to do.The only way that Drake can do, is to show how devoted he is to becoming a SOLDIER and not giving up."

It was just at that second, a soldier walked up to Drake, shouldering hard past him. It sent the young man staggering but then he turned to glare at the soldier who had done it. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there." The solider sneered.

Drake just glared hard at the man. "You better open your damn eyes then, you moron." He growled at him.

The soldier glared right back. "Hey! You better watch it, you little wimp! Or I'm going to pound your little ass into the ground!" He snapped.

Drake smirked coldly. "I'd love to see you try, wimp."

"That's it!" The soldier yelled as he threw his fist towards Drake's head.

Cloud saw Zack start stepping forward to stop the fight but he immediately stopped when Drake made his move. Actually, no one had ever seen him move. One second, he was there, and the next, he was right behind the soldier, slamming his elbow right into the soldier's back. The soldier cried out in pain before he turned, swinging his weapon. A spiked club. Everyone's attention was on them now. Drake had quickly yanked out one of his swords, slashing the club in half, startling the poor soldier. He only continued to smirk as he slid the other one out with ease.

"Big mistake." He said before slashed the soldier's chest.

He moved so quickly that it was very hard to see him. He spun in a circle, slashing the soldier again. The only thing that everyone could see was flashes of silver from the blades. And then there was a loud clang as his swords had swung at the soldier to finish him off, only to find that there was a very long blade blocking his attack.

There stood an agitated Sephiroth, glaring at Drake. The soldier that Drake had been slicing up was dead on the ground. "That's enough. He's dead. There's no point in slicing him anymore." The young General said coldly.

Drake only met Sephiroth's cold green eyes before he slid his swords down along the large Masamune, making quite the noise before he slid them away. Without another word, he turned and walked away. Cloud and Zack just stood there with wide eyes. None of them could believe what they had just seen.

"Wow. He was fast." Cloud muttered.

Zack then squinted his eyes. "Yeah, he sure was. Makes you think about why he's not SOLIDER yet." He said. Cloud looked up at him. "Why isn't he?" He asked. Zack only shook his head as he watched Drake go. "From what I heard, he's not a SOLDIER yet is because he's Wutain." That surprised Cloud, but he didn't say anything.

Through the years of knowing what Drake was and what he could do, Cloud never asked him why he was fighting against his own people. He had heard too many rumors though. One being that he had been banished from Wutai for something he did. And another was because he was so ruthless and he didn't care about anyone. Cloud didn't believe that one. He knew that Drake might have been a little ruthless and a little cool to others, but he was also quite friendly and cheerful to some people. One being him, Cloud Strife. Yet, he found many ways of teasing him. It just sometimes drove Cloud nuts when Drake started teasing him. Especially about his motion sickness.

And when the Nibelhiem mission came up, he still teased Cloud about his motion sickness in the vehicles, on the ship and on the way to the town. Eventually, Sephiroth had to yell at him. Drake would just glare at him and stop for the time being. Then go back and tease Cloud again.  
When they reached Nibelheim, Drake had noticed how nervous Cloud had been when they went into the town. So while Sephiroth went into the Inn and Zack went off doing whatever else he did, Drake talked to Cloud. "So, this your old hometown, is it?"

Cloud only looked at Drake before looking around the townsquare. "Yeah. I used to live in that house over there." He said pointing towards his house. Drake only shook his head. "Did you see that cute girl before we came in?" He grinned. "Wouldn't you like to get your hands a fine peice of..."

Cloud shot Drake a silencing look before he could finish. "Hey! Don't talk about her like that. That used to be a friend of mine. So don't."

Drake rose an eyebrow at him. "Well, excuse me, chocoboy." He ignored the dark look Cloud gave him for that nickname. He just looked around. "Heh, this ain't much of a town anyway. Well, keep hanging, Cloud. You never know, you might just get a hold of that cute girl." He then walked away.

That was pretty much the last thing Drake ever said to Cloud. It was only the next day, did the bridge break when they tried to cross break and they lost sight of Drake. No one ever saw Drake again after that. Not for a long time.

**End Flashback**

Cloud blinked when he realized that the sun was now coming up and everyone was starting to wake up. He blew out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his spikey blonde hair. So many things had happened since that last mission with Drake. He still couldn't understand why Drake had changed so much. He hadn't been that bad when they knew each other. But now he was just so cold and cruel. It reminded Cloud of what had happened between Barret and his old best friend, Dyne. Dyne had blamed Barret for what happened to him. But then in the end, he forgave him before he killed himself. Would Drake do the same to himself in the end? Cloud didn't know what to think of that.

"Morning, everyone." Tifa said as she stretched.

There were a few replies but they were very quiet. "So, what's the plan for today?" Rufus asked as he brushed off his cloths and stood up. Again no one really said anything until Cloud stood up and closed his eyes, almost enjoying the breeze. He then opened his eyes and turned around and looked off into the horizen. "I think I know where Drake went." He said. Everyone looked at him with surprise when he said that.

"Huh?! You do? Where did he go, Cloud?" Tifa asked, looking very hopeful.

Cloud was quiet for a long moment but then he shook his head, turning back to them. "We've looked almost everywhere, right? We haven't heard a word from Cid who said he was going to circle the Northern Continent to see he could see anything. The thing is, Drake wouldn't have gone that far from where we're at. He was too anxious in getting rid of me, Zack and Sephiroth. He wouldn't go too far from where we're at. So that means they must be closer than we think." He then turned his eyes onto Vincent. "The only place we haven't checked yet is the cave."

Everyone else just glanced at one another, trying to figure out what he was talking about. But Vincent frowned, his mouth slightly parted. "Lucrecia's cave."

Tifa and Yuffie both looked shocked to hear that but the others were confused. "Lucrecia's cave? What in the hell is that?" Rufus asked. Cloud pointed off towards the North from them. "It's a secret cavern where Sephiroth's real mother is. Or at least was. She's probably dead by now. Not to sound cold, Vincent." He said glancing over at his friend. The Ex-Turk didn't say anything about it.

"So, where is this cave?" Eden asked as she tilted her head to the side.

Cloud shook his head as he went over to his chocobo, getting it ready for travel. "Not far from here at all. It's just up that river. We'll go there and check. Hopefully I'm right that they're there. If they are, we'll call the others and then we'll get Marlene back." He said. Tifa nodded with the other two Avalanche members. Rufus immediately began to ready himself for travel as well as did the others. Yazoo, however, was taking in all of information that he just learned. "Cloud," He paused. The blonde turned back and looked at him. "What do you know of this...Lucrecia?"

Everyone went quiet as they turned their eyes onto the silver haired man. Cloud and Vincent both glanced at one another before looking back at him. "Why?" The blonde swordsman asked. Yazoo looked up at the morning sky. "Because if she is Sephiroth's mother, then she must be mine too. And Jenova wasn't. I want to know what my true origin is."

No one spoke for a few minutes before Vincent slowly nodded to him. "Lucrecia is Sephiroth's mother. She was the first to be injected with Jenova cells while carrying Sephiroth in her womb. That was how the Jenova Project first began." He said quietly.

Rufus frowned in wonderment. "How do you know that?"

Vincent looked away, not saying anything. But Cloud shook his head. "He knows because he was there, Rufus. How old do you think Vincent really is? If he knew Lucrecia and Professor Gast then he's older than you think. Unless he was only one years old at the time. Sephiroth was at least 30 years old when we fought him to save the Planet three years ago." He shrugged. "Plus Lucrecia used to be his girlfriend back then."

Vincent gave a low grunt as if he snorting at that. "She wasn't." He said quietly.

Rufus then frowned as did Yazoo and Eden. "If...if she was the woman you loved, Vincent, and you knew all about Sephiroth...you're not..." The red haired warrioress was asking. Vincent turned to face her, his blood red eyes meeting her strange lavendar ones. "No." He replied quietly. "I'm not Sephiroth's sire, father. Hojo was."

Rufus stepped back with alarm as Eden did. "You're kidding right?! Why wasn't I told of that!" He exclaimed.

Vincent tilted his head, as if he was looking at the former President of Shinra. "You weren't because it wasn't nessessary. Hojo never told anyone that he was Sephiroth's real father. Only Lucrecia knew of it. I believe that Hojo may have had her lie to everyone about her getting artificially inserted so they could do the project. But it was only when we killed him, he told us the truth."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. We were shocked too. Pissed Vincent off pretty bad."

Yuffie nodded. "Yeah! And that's when he grabbed Hojo's head and ripped it off!" She said laughing evilly as she seized a dandilion fuzzball and pretended to rip its head off.

Everyone just stared wide eyes at her, though Vincent rolled his own.

"The fact is, Hojo was Sephiroth's father and he lied to everyone about it. As for Lucrecia, well..." Tifa paused. "She's either still alive, or she died the day Sephiroth died."

The other three just stared at her. "What do you mean?" Yazoo asked quietly. Vincent shook his head as he turned away. "Like me, Lucrecia stayed the same age for 30 years. The Jenova cells inside her wouldn't let her die. She lived in misery for such a long time." The others heard him sigh under his breath. "Just like I did."

"Well, let's go see if she's there or not then." Eden said.

Everyone looked at her, in question. "Why? I thought..." Yuffie was saying.

Eden shrugged. "If that's a place we haven't looked yet, we should go check it out. And just maybe Lucrecia's still there." She then looked over at Yazoo. "It maybe not entirely true and just a theory, but if Lucrecia is Sephiroth's mother, then she's also Yazoo's and his brothers. The four of them are brothers together. Remnants or not. I think it's only fair that Yazoo gets to see his true mother and not keep thinking that Jenova is it."

Everyone slowly smiled at the thought. "Yeah. That's only fair." Tifa said. Yazoo faintly smiled in Eden's direction. "Thank you." He said very quietly.

So the group mounted their Chocobos and they were on their way. They called the Shera to let the others know what they were doing. Cid reported to them that they would probably land on the otherside of the mountain and wait for their word. If Drake was really in Lucrecia's cave with Marlene and his employers, they would come.

The group rode up the river, keeping their eyes out for any attacks. Cloud was in the leave, of course. But so was Vincent. He was riding alongside Cloud's chocobo, his steed also carrying Eden. They all were a little edgy, just waiting for something to attack them. Even Yazoo was a little edgy and he usually didn't show his emotions at all. They were carefully riding up the river, climbing a steep hill side until the reached the lake.

"We're here." Cloud said as he pulled his chocobo up to the water's edge so it could drink.

It was awefully quiet and that didn't seem to sit too well with any of them. Eden couldn't help but admire how beautiful the lake was. What little sun peeping through the clouds was shining down on the water, making almost like crystals. "It's so pretty." She finally said as she climbed down from Vincent's chocobo as did everyone else.

"Yeah. It looks just about the same since we last been here." Yuffie said as she looked around.

Everyone jerked when Tifa gasped and pointed. "Cloud! Over there!" She said. Everyone immediately had their weapons out, looking around for what might have made her gasp but they relaxed to see a dead Behemoth. It looked like it had been dead for quite some time though. "What in the world could have killed that? Even we have a hard time killing those." Yuffie said as she stared. Cloud only frowned before he walked over, the others following behind him. They looked at the deep slashes in its face and neck. The blonde swordsman narrowed his eyes as he placed his hand on one of the slashes then shook his head. "Drake...he was here. Not long ago either. This kill was made at least a day ago."

Tifa jerked around, looking around frantically. "Then they must be here!" She opened her mouth to start calling out Marlene's name but Vincent quickly placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tifa, don't. If they are still here, Drake would know we're here." He said quietly.

Cloud nodded as he looked towards the waterfall. "I don't see them anywhere near the lake, so they must be inside there. Let's check it out." He said. Everyone nodded and they all started walking towards the cavern, side by side and their hands on their weapons.

They weren't very far from the cave when suddenly there was a loud roar and something fell from above them. Everyone immediately halted in their tracks, weapons out and ready to fight. Standing before the group was a very familiar creature to Cloud, Rufus and Yazoo. They all looked very alert, their weapons aimed at the snarling monster.

It was a Manticore.

"What in the hell is that?!" Yuffie gasped as she readied to throw her weapon.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the monster's yellow eyes. "It's one of the creatures that attacked us at the Chocobo Ranch." He said, keeping his ground. Yazoo nodded as he held his gunblade tightly in his hand. "They attacked Junon too. And killed the town's representive."

"A Manticore." Eden spoke up as she held her sword tightly in her hand.

Just then, there was the sound of someone clapping their hands, almost applauding them. "Well guessed, Phoenix Project. " A cold voice echoed from all around them. The group looked around before they noticed that they were actually surrounded by Manticores. There must have been at least twenty of them. They were all snarling and looking ready to pounce.

"Who's there?!" Rufus called out, his shotgun trained on one Manticore.

All eyes immediately turned onto movement from behind the large waterfall. It was to their utter surprise that a very gorgeous woman walked out from behind the water, soon followed by two more Manticores. They were standing beside her as if they were guard dogs.

The woman, herself, was exceptionally beautiful and had a dark look about her. She had short black hair, running down to her shoulders and falling over her icy blue eyes. Her skin was a very fair but pale color as if she had never seen the sun. The only color on her face was her crimson red lips, which was curved up into a wicked smile. She was wearing a black outfit made out of leather and cloth. Her pants were the blackest leather and her top was almost like a black leather corset with long sleeves made out of black silk, splitting from the forearm. Each and every one of the group could see a dark aura around this woman. There was no doubt that she was wicked through and through.

"Who are you?!" Cloud called as he kept his sword up. Beside him, Tifa had her fists up in front of her in a dueling stance. The others had their weapons as well, yet they were either keeping their eyes on the Manticores or looking at the woman.

The woman smirked as she walked towards them, stopping twenty feet away. She just tilted her head to the side in a very curious and innocent way, yet her eyes said preditors. "Of course, you wouldn't know me. We haven't met for such a long time. You may address me as 'Your Lady', after all, this Planet belongs to me." She said in such a cold way.

Eden's parted as she just looked into those eyes, that slowly turned into hers. She saw a flash of memory and she immediately stood ready for battle. "It's Jenova!" She revealed.


End file.
